WHY NPA IS NEEDED
25% of the US population suffers from neurological dysfunction.
Barriers Preventing Adoption of Neuroplasticity Treatment
Consumer awareness, physician acceptance, insurance reimbursement and ease of access are key barriers preventing translation of neuroplastic discoveries into clinical practice. Physicians and therapists are often unwilling to recommend neuroplastic treatments for multiple reasons – it goes against what they were taught in medical school, the supporting science is more evidence-based at this stage of development, and the physician-pharmaceutical ecosystem also plays a role. And for the same reasons, insurance providers don’t typically reimburse for these treatments. Another challenge is that existing treatments are not always easy to access - they often require travel and repeated daily effort over multiple weeks or months to be effective. Without physician or extensive word of mouth referrals and the lack of insurance reimbursement, patients are often unaware of these treatment options and are cautious about trying something unfamiliar. NPA is tackling each of these barriers at the consumer, professional, and industry levels.
Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center Estimates:
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5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease;
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1 million from Parkinson's;
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400,000 from multiple sclerosis (MS);
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30,000 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease)
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30,000 from Huntington's disease.
Because neurodegenerative diseases strike primarily in mid- to late-life, the incidence is expected to soar as the population ages.
National Center for Learning Difficulties Estimates:
1 in 5 suffers from a Learning disability such as Dyslexia or ADHD.
Reeve Foundation Estimates:
1 in 50 people, or 5.6 million, are living with paralysis as a result of injury or neurodegenerative disease.
Because neuroplastic treatments work by addressing the core challenge causing the mental or physical disability, people often see dramatic recoveries and even cures.
Unfortunately, there are critical barriers that prevent the adoption of these treatments. A key challenge is the mainstream healthcare community's unwillingness to accept evidence-based results, which is one reason why it takes an average of 17 years for a new discovery to become clinically available. This means, for example, that the 800,000 children born each year with Dyslexia and ADD, who could positively benefit from current life-changing discoveries, will instead have to grow-up dealing with the mental and emotional hardships of these challenges that negatively impact their self-confidence, IQ and social integration, thereby limiting their lifelong potential.
Our goal is to tackle each of these barriers, spearheading solutions; coordinating and streamlining the efforts of multiple, often disparate, teams; and doing what's needed to bring new treatments to those in need.