$1B Brain Trust to fund research for prevention, treatment
From November 15th edition of The Ottawa Citizen:
By Don ButlerClick on the image to view an animated MRI sequence of sagittal transections through the human brain. The nose is to the left. Courtesy of Christian R. Linder.
An alliance of North American business and science groups is proposing to create a $1-billion foundation to fund research into the cure and prevention of major mental illnesses and addictions.
Plans for the proposed non-profit corporation, known as the Brain Trust, were presented to delegates to a U.S.-Canada forum on mental health and productivity at the Canadian War Museum yesterday.
The Brain Trust will aim to raise $1 billion over 10 years from businesses and charitable foundations that don't currently support research into mental health, said Bill Wilkerson, president of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.
He said the Brain Trust will focus on funding research projects "with the greatest promise of finding a cure for mental illness."
One goal will be to find "the Holy Grail" of brain research -- why and how the brain responds to the social environment, producing the symptoms of mental illness.
"Now's the time for the public's imagination to be caught by another kind of climate change -- social climate change," Mr. Wilkerson said.
Business leaders are increasingly focusing on mental health issues, in part because depression is now the leading source of workplace disability.
According to figures presented at the forum, mental disorders cost Canada $35 billion a year in treatment and lost productivity -- $3 billion more than cancer.
Annual research spending on mental health in Canada is just $65 million, barely a quarter of research spending on cancer.
Health Minister Tony Clement assured delegates "there's a lot of focus on this issue" now within government. "I really want to keep the momentum going."
He said neurological disorders represent 14 per cent of the burden of disease worldwide and one in three disability claims in Canada.
Mr. Clement said the government has exclusive or predominant responsibility for mental health services to inmates, soldiers, First Nations and public servants. "As an employer, I believe we have the responsibility to lead by example," he said.
David Goldbloom, vice-chairman of the newly created Mental Health Commission of Canada, said mental disorders in the labour force have major strategic implications because the global economy is fast becoming brain-based. "We are increasingly valued for our above-the-neck capabilities."
The convergence of demand for brain skills and the rising incidence of brain disorders is "the greatest health-based threat to economic and industrial activity," he said.
Tom Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in the U.S., said 16 per cent of people in Canada or the U.S. will suffer from mental disorders during their lifetimes, with about half of those disabled by the disease.
Unlike other chronic illnesses, mental disorders begin early in life, with onset by age 14 in half of all cases. "This is really one of the chronic diseases of young people," he said.
Depression, he said, "is a big one. This is a disease that kills." In the U.S., 30,000 depressed people commit suicide every year -- almost twice as many as are victims of homicide.
Yet depression is eminently treatable, he said, through medication or cognitive behaviour therapy. "The real crime here is we haven't been able to use them often enough and get them to the people who need them early enough."
Moya Greene, president and CEO of Canada Post, said the Crown corporation decided to champion mental health after employees selected it as their "cause of choice."
The corporation's 72,000 employees have the highest rate of absence in Canada, averaging 15 sick days a year, a third of which are due to stress or other mental conditions.
Depression and anxiety are responsible for nearly 37 per cent of Canada Post's disability claims, she said.
Ms. Greene said mental health problems cost the corporation $300 million a year, a figure she hopes to reduce to $30 million within five years by promoting a workplace culture of "tolerance, respect and support.
"This is a very, very big issue for us," she said.
Yesterday's forum was the second in a series of four. The final two will take place next year in New York and Toronto, after which Mr. Wilkerson hopes the Brain Trust will be ready for launch.
