The president of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Cristina Maragall, has participated in the opening speech of the “Meeting of Associations” of Neurodegenerative Diseases, organized by the Reina Sofía Foundation at the University of Salamanca. The objective of the meeting, which has been moderated by the journalist Ángel Expósito, has been to deal in depth with, among others, the social, political, economic, prevention and family problems, which commonly affect the associations that work daily to improve the quality of life of people and their closest environments.

Cristina Maragall has spoken about the need to invest in research, the costs of the disease for families and the impact it has on the family environment. The president of the Foundation has also stressed the importance of having support tools to find a cure and prevent the disease, since there is an increase in diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, associated with age and aging.

The “Meeting of Associations” was also attended by the presidents of the Spanish Alzheimer's Confederation, the Spanish Parkinson's Federation, the Spanish Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, and the Spanish Korean Huntington's Association.

Currently, Alzheimer's and dementia are one of the main causes of mortality, disability and dependency. In Spain alone, it is estimated that they affect around one million people, one in 10 people over 65 years of age and a third of those over 85. Their costs reach 60 million euros per day in our country, borne in 87% by the families themselves. Likewise, together with the affected people, there are the carers, who make up a reality that is hardly visible and does not have the care they need.