New research presented at the 2026 European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress and scheduled for publication in 2026 reveals that the increasing number of people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor neuron disease (MND) is driven by a variety of underlying factors. Neurology.
Researchers from France and Sweden analyzed national health data for the entire population of both countries to examine trends in the prevalence, incidence, and life expectancy of people with PD, MS, and MND from 2003 to 2022. The number of people living with all three diseases increased, but the factors driving these trends varied widely for each disease.
The increase in the prevalence of MS may be primarily due to people living longer after diagnosis, reflecting advances in treatment and care. In contrast, MND was the only disease that showed an increase in age-adjusted incidence, suggesting that factors other than population aging may be contributing. For Parkinson’s disease, age-adjusted incidence rates have decreased over time, indicating that historical increases in prevalence have been driven primarily by improved survival rather than increased disease risk.
While the crude incidence rates of PD and MS remained approximately stable over the study period, both the crude and age-adjusted incidence rates increased for MND. Life expectancy for people living with MS and MND has also improved. For PD, life expectancy increased from 2003 to 2013 but decreased thereafter.
Lead author Dr. Thomas Nederek of the Sorbonne University and the Paris Brain Institute said: “The disease that is increasing most rapidly in terms of prevalence is multiple sclerosis. Importantly, this increase appears to be driven not by an increase in morbidity, but by an improvement in patient life expectancy.”
Dr. Nedelek discussed possible reasons behind improved MS survival rates, adding, “For multiple sclerosis, advances in immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies may be contributing significantly to reduced disease activity and improved long-term outcomes.”
Researchers say that in the case of MND, an aging population explains much, but not all, of the increased incidence. Increased awareness and improved diagnosis may have contributed to more cases being identified, but the possibility that environmental and lifestyle-related risk factors are changing cannot yet be ruled out.
In the case of PD, the situation appears more complex. Taking into account the effects of population aging, the number of new infections has decreased over time. Researchers suggest that this pattern may reflect better disease control and improved treatment of related health conditions, particularly cardiovascular disease.
There are several important messages here. Although the number of people living with these neurological conditions continues to increase significantly, this does not appear to be driven by a significant increase in new cases. This is reassuring from a public health perspective, as it suggests we are not seeing a dramatic increase in population-level risk. ”
Dr. Thomas Nederek, Sorbonne University and Paris Brain Institute
This finding highlights the importance of understanding the different mechanisms that drive the spread of the disease, as increased survival and increased incidence have vastly different implications for health care planning, service delivery, and disease prevention.
Looking ahead, the research team calls for a concerted European effort to better understand long-term neurological disease trends.
“We believe there is a clear need for a large-scale European effort to replicate this type of analysis across the continent,” concluded Dr. Nederec. “This will help us better understand differences between countries and increase our understanding of the factors that cause these diseases.”
sauce:
European Society of Neurology
Reference magazines:
Guinebretière, O. Others. (2026). Factors contributing to the increasing prevalence of major motor neurodegenerative diseases. Neurology. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000218072. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000218072
