Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0002736 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
 19,048 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Our objective was to assess the impact of personal, situational and patient characteristics on mood, and changes over time, among ALS caregivers. Seventy-one patient-caregiver pairs were interviewed once and 51 (72%) monthly until endpoints of death or tracheostomy for long-term mechanical ventilation (LTMV). Depressive symptoms and DSM-IV disorders, coping strategies, caregiver burden, satisfaction with care-giving, and patient disease severity were assessed. At baseline, 13% of caregivers had major depression, and 10% had minor depression. Rates declined at last visit before death or LTMV (median interval three months), as did depressive symptoms. Correlates of caregiver depression included reliance on avoidance, perceived burden, fatigue, and feeling that the patient was critical and unappreciative. Half of the 14 caregivers of patients who planned LTMV were depressed at baseline, declining to 8% at endpoint, versus 16% (9/57) among caregivers of patients who died, declining non-significantly to 11%. While few personal or situational factors were correlated with caregiver distress, patients' plans and degree of supportiveness influenced caregiver mood. Verbal comments of caregivers clarified the distinction between sadness and psychiatric depression. The high baseline rate of depression among caregivers of patients who planned tracheostomy decreased as caregivers instituted major changes in patient care or personal counseling.
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PMID:How common is depression among ALS caregivers? A longitudinal study. 1992 39

Emotions have not often been studied in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Most existing studies have assessed the psychopathological manifestations involved, essentially depression and less frequently anxiety. The results have shown that major depressive episodes and anxious episodes are not frequent in ALS patients, although moderate depressive or anxious symptoms are often observed, but less frequently than in other diseases like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease. Depressive symptoms are not correlated to the duration or severity of the disease. This has led us to investigate the coping mechanisms involved in ALS. Results of previously published studies have shown that they did not differ from those observed in other somatic diseases, but ALS patients show more frequent concern with spirituality and religious preoccupations. It thus appears necessary to make a more detailed study of how ALS patients cope with the disease and its ominous consequences. Emotional processing difficulties may be a factor underlying quite diverse somatic and psychological disorders. The Baker's model propose five stages in emotional processing: emotional experience, emotional expression, labelling, linkage and awareness. Assessment of the emotional processing used by ALS patients should improve our comprehension of their adaptive functioning. The patients' caregivers play an essential role, and studies have shown that they often suffer themselves from depression and the burdens involved, and that the perceived social support has an impact on the quality of life and on the depression of the patients. Therefore, it seems important to assess the emotional processing not only of patients but also of their caregivers.
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PMID:[Emotions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a psychopathological perspective]. 2241 99