Central idea 

Dr. Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy advocates for prioritizing rehabilitation services globally, emphasizing their crucial role in treating neuropsychiatric disorders across the lifespan. He highlights the need for awareness, collaboration, and innovative solutions to address the significant burden of disabilities and enhance the quality of life for affected individuals.

Key Highlights:

• Dr. Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy emphasizes the importance of transformative solutions for persons with neuropsychiatric disorders, spanning childhood to old age.
• The focus is on enhancing activities of daily life and quality of life for individuals affected by various neuropsychiatric conditions.
• Rehabilitation services are crucial, with 2.41 billion individuals globally requiring rehabilitation according to the WHO’s Global Burden of Disease study.

Key Challenges:

• Rehabilitation is often seen as a disability-specific service, leading to under-prioritization despite its significant societal benefits.
• Lack of awareness in the community that disablement can be treated and, in some cases, reversed.
• The need for a shift in perception among medical professionals to recognize rehabilitation as an essential service.

Key Terms:

• Neuropsychiatric disorders
• Transformative solutions
• Rehabilitation
• Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS)
• Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
• Functional Magnetic Stimulation (FMS)
• Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES)
• Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (tA-VNS)

Key Phrases:

• “Rehabilitation needs are plentiful with a global burden of 2.41 billion individuals.”
• “Neurology and psychiatry are closely linked, requiring a continuum of care.”
• “Scientific advances, such as NIBS procedures, offer promising avenues for treatment.”

Key Quotes:

• “Disablement does not need to be endured; it can be treated, even reversed, in a proportion of cases.”
• “Rehabilitation services need to be multidisciplinary, multicomponent, and holistic.”

Key Statements:

• “Rehabilitation services are traditionally under-resourced despite individual and societal benefits.”
• “There is a need to build awareness that disablement can be treated.”

Key Examples and References:

• Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a mainstream treatment for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Functional Magnetic Stimulation (FMS) for pain, spasticity, and other neurological symptoms.
• Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) showing success in improving memory, cognition, mood, and various neurological conditions.
• Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (tA-VNS) being investigated for depression, migraine, and dysautonomia.

Key Facts:

• 2.41 billion individuals globally had conditions benefiting from rehabilitation in 2019.
• The number of individuals requiring rehabilitation increased by 63% from 1990 to 2019.

Key Data:

• 317 million individuals affected by neuropsychiatric disorders in childhood.
• 167 million adolescents and 970 million people affected globally by mental health conditions.

Critical Analysis:

• Lack of prioritization and resources for rehabilitation despite a significant global burden.
• The necessity for a paradigm shift in perceiving rehabilitation as essential for a broad spectrum of neurological and mental health problems.

Way Forward:

• Increase awareness about the treatability of disabilities.
• Promote collaboration between governments, public and private sectors to find innovative solutions for persons with disabilities.
• Enhance training and development opportunities for rehabilitation professionals.
• Advocate for a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to rehabilitation services.

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