Empathetic solicitude attenuates the affective and sensory dimensions of CO-induced dyspnea: A randomized parallel arm experimental trial in healthy humans.

Dyspnea testifies to profound suffering in patients and its relief is a priority for caregivers. This can be achieved by correcting causative disorders ("etiopathogenic" approach) or targeting the dyspnea itself ("symptomatic" approach), as is done for pain. Empathetic solicitude from caregivers has an intrinsic analgesic effect, but its effects on dyspnea have not been formally documented.

Multimodal physiological correlates of dyspnea ratings during breath-holding in healthy humans.

Introduction And Objectives: Dyspnea is associated with fear and intense suffering and is often assessed using visual analog scales (VAS) or numerical rating scales (NRS). However, the physiological correlates of such ratings are not well known. Using the voluntary breath-holding model of induced dyspnea, we studied healthy volunteers to investigate the temporal relationship between dyspnea, the neural drive to breathe assessed in terms of involuntary thoracoabdominal movements (ITMs) and neurovegetative responses.

[Proposals from a French expert panel for respiratory care in ALS patients].

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive diaphragm weakness and deteriorating lung function. Bulbar involvement and cough weakness contribute to respiratory morbidity and mortality. ALS-related respiratory failure significantly affects quality of life and is the leading cause of death.