1 in 3 people will suffer brain illness or injury in their lifetime.
Brain diseases and injuries cost society as much as $2 TRILLION per year in the US and EU.
Brain disorders and injuries cost society more than cancer and cardiovascular disease COMBINED.
1.7 MILLION Americans have Autism.
1.7 MILLION Americans suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury every year.
Approximately 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease.
Over 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease.
For every soldier killed in war in 2012, about 25 veterans took their own lives.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AND DISABILITY in America.
By 2023, over 46 million American adults will suffer from a mental disorder.
53,000 Americans die every year due to Traumatic Brain Injury.
8 teenagers die EVERY DAY in the US from TBI.
Neurological disorders constitute 12% of total deaths globally each year.
There are 5 MILLION Americans living with TBI-related disabilities.
Mental disorders make up 35% of the cost of all non-communicable diseases worldwide.
5.3 MILLION Americans have lifelong disabilities due to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Direct and indirect cost of TBI is $76 BILLION per year in the US.
Nearly 8% of the US population suffers from POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS in their lifetime.
300,000 soldiers suffer TBI and/or PTS.
Women are about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD.
There is 1 military suicide per day in the US.
FOUR people commit suicide EVERY HOUR in the United States.
In the U.S., serious mental illness causes earnings loss of $193.2 billion annually.
90% of suicide victims have a TREATABLE MENTAL DISORDER.
Nearly 10% of people with SCHIZOPHRENIA commit suicide.
Number one sport per capita for traumatic brain injury is GIRLS SOCCER.
HALF A MILLION children under 14 go to the emergency room every year for TBI.
Funding for brain research from government and pharmaceutical companies is DECREASING EVERY YEAR.
Someone develops Alzheimer’s Disease EVERY 68 SECONDS.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the 6th LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH in US adults.
Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.
TBI patients are up to 5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Medicaid and Medicare spend $130 BILLION per year on Alzheimer’s patients.
One in 10 high school athletes involved in contact sports sustain a concussion each year.
Over 400,000 Americans have Multiple Sclerosis.
An athlete who sustains a concussion is 5 times more likely to sustain a second concussion.
People with TBI are nearly twice as likely to report binge drinking.
The lowest rates of Multiple Sclerosis are in countries nearest to the EQUATOR.
20% of U.S. troops returning from combat tours show symptoms of PTSD or major depression.
DEPRESSION is the LEADING CAUSE of disease burden in the U.S.
Nearly 7% of American adults had a MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODE in the past 12 months.
81.1 million people will be affected by dementia by 2040.
Over 2 MILLION Americans over the age of 18 suffer from BIPOLAR DISORDER.
About one in 10 individuals will have at least one epileptic seizure in their lifetime.
TBI victims are 50% more likely to suffer from depression.
Over 2 MILLION Americans have SCHIZOPHRENIA.
Among people with MS, physical disability contributes to a nearly 70% unemployment rate.
The annual medical cost of Schizophrenia in the US is OVER $32B.

Joe Biden Backs Brain Research

Posted on May 26, 2011

(by Christine Lee, WWLP, May 26, 2011) Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Massachusetts for the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s announcement to send a man to the moon. Speaking at a luncheon at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, the vice president encouraged the spirit of scientific advancement and technological innovation – and backed former Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s campaign to launch a 10-year research project on brain disorders.

“Just as there were naysayers in 1961 there are naysayers in 2011. Today they say our economy is too fragile. I say our economy will stay fragile for the better part of the century unless we are bold,” said Biden.

Also speaking at the event was astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who recalled President Kennedy’s announcement that led to his becoming that first man on the moon.

“This bold and courageous call to action led to America’s commitment to the moon race,” said Aldrin.

While President Kennedy’s project explored the outer reaches of space, his nephew, Patrick Kennedy, aims to tackle the inner reaches of the mind. Kennedy said his One Mind Research campaign will be to neuroscience what his uncle’s moon race was to aerospace engineering, with the special goal of treating veterans of brain disorders caused by the hazards of war.

“Whether it be a wounded warrior who because of spinal cord injury, and being confined to a wheel chair, will ultimately be able to take that first step out of a wheel chair.  That for our generation will represent the one small step for man and the one giant leap for mankind,” said Kennedy.

The luncheon caps a 3-day conference on neuroscience research and development.