Neurological diseases include those affecting brain, peripheral nerves, and spinal cord. These
may include conditions like epilepsy, stroke, headaches, brain tumors, encephalitis (brain
infection), congenital disorders, neuropathies, sleep disorders, dementia, Alzheimer’s, spinal
diseases like tumors, spondylosis, and several others. To this, head injuries also add enhancing
the burden to a very significant extent. Regarding mental health disorders, WHO defines this as
a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or
behavior. These include anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorders, post-traumatic
disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, disruptive behavior and dissocial disorders, and
neurodevelopment disorders.
India, following independence, had to grapple with the most basic health care like vaccinations,
infectious diseases, etc. However, as people's quality of life and socioeconomic status
improved, the focus of National health care shifted to non-infectious pathologies and tertiary
level care. Tertiary health care services, which received significant thrust, included cardiac
sciences and gastrointestinal and liver diseases, to mention a few. Neurosciences and mental
health, to date, have been a neglected branch. One of the several reasons could have been the
issues of some neurological diseases being untreatable and associated with higher morbidity and
mortality. However, the past three decades have witnessed several remarkable improvements. These
include tremendous progress in imaging, other diagnostic technologies, better interventional
strategies including optics, minimally invasive surgeries, navigational techniques, robotics,
AI, and better application of molecular and basic sciences research. The global burden of
neurological disorders has increased substantially in the past two to three decades.
Neurological disorders ranked as the leading cause of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs, 276
million) and the second leading cause of death (10 million, comprising 18.5% of global deaths)
in 2020. Presently, an estimated 6.8 million people die every year as a result of neurological
disorders. As the global population ages, the impact of neurological disorders will be felt more
in developing than in developed countries. Neurological disorders affects one billion people
worldwide, 50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias.
The increasing burden is possibly attributed to rapid demographic and epidemiological transitions
such as explosive population growth, aging, and unhealthy lifestyles. The dramatic demographic
and socioeconomic changes result in more people reaching ages where neurological disorders are
most prevalent worldwide, especially in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This
includes countries like India. The neurological disorders in India doubled from the 1990s to
2020. The most significant contributors to neurological disorders in India had Epilepsy, Stroke,
and headache.
It is estimated that one out of every six individuals in India has a mental illness. Factors like
rapid urbanization, breakdown of families, increasing stress levels, job insecurities, and
rising crime contribute significantly to this. Added to this is the immense treatment gap
existing to access skilled health care advice. Understanding the immense need for a thrust in
neurosciences and mental health, SANMAN health care was created as a non-profit charitable
organization to promote treatment for neurosciences and mental health by creating a suitable
platform for providing treatment and promoting research and education. SANMAN health care also
plans the future to create its independent establishment to provide health care specifically
towards neurosciences and mental health.
