The Management of Dry Eye Disease: Proceedings of Italian Dry Eye Consensus Group Using the Delphi Method.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a highly prevalent, chronic and progressive condition that affects 5-33% of the world's adult population [...

Alexithymia in Patients with Ménière Disease: A Possible Role on Anxiety and Depression.

The aim of this paper was to investigate the role of the psychological variable of alexithymia both as a risk factor for the development of Ménière's disease (MD) and as a component that influences the personal experience of MD and the individual quality of life. We collected data from 179 Italian patients who fulfilled criteria for definite MD. Patients filled out validated self-rating questionnaires to assess alexithymia (TAS-20), quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), anxiety and depression (HADS), perception of stress (PSS) and coping strategies (COPE).

Psychological features and quality of life in 50 adult patients with epilepsy and their caregivers from the Lecco epilepsy center, Italy.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. To the best of our knowledge, in Italy, the relationship between patients' and caregivers' psychological state has rarely been analyzed. Thus, we sought to evaluate both the psychological state of patients with epilepsy and that of their caregivers and the interrelationship between them.

Hidden reality: sexual sphere in brain tumor patients.

Most reports emphasize that tumors and their treatments affect sexual function. To date, no studies have focused on sexual functioning in patients with brain tumors. Our study's objective is to describe the sexual sphere of patients with brain tumors and examine the possible differences between patients who reported sexual dysfunctions and those who did not with respect to their psychological and functional status.

Caring for Brain Tumour Patients: Psychological reactions after bereavement.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the changes in quality of life and in levels of anxiety and depression experienced by caregivers of patients with brain tumour 18 months after their bereavement.

Methods: This longitudinal study employed data from two time points: time 1, during the hospital stay of the caregiver's loved one; and time 2, approximately 18 months after the death of the patient. A total of 51 caregivers agreed to participate in the study at both time points.

Living with a brain tumor : reaction profiles in patients and their caregivers.

Purpose: The psychological burden induced by brain tumor is profound both for the sick person and for their own family. This particular tumor not only impacts patients' quality of life, but also reduces seriously the caregivers' quality of life. We aim to describe brain tumor patients and their caregivers' quality of life during the illness and assess the existing relation between clinical and psychological features of patients and their caregivers.

The burden of brain tumor: a single-institution study on psychological patterns in caregivers.

Quality of life and well-being in caregivers are usually partly neglected since all attention is focused on patients and the way they react to the illness. Carers also usually neglect their own needs, especially when the illness of the patient is as complex as a brain tumor. The aim of this study is to investigate how caregivers deal with a diagnosis of brain tumor in their relatives and how they manage their quality of life and psychosocial well-being.

Recurrent brain tumour: the impact of illness on patient's life.

Purpose: Despite advances in therapies that offer improved survival rates, clinical course of brain tumours leads to a progressive functional deterioration in patients with modifications in their psychological reaction to the disease. Patients with brain tumours are rarely assessed for quality of life and psychological variables, and even fewer studies have assessed patients who have experienced a recurrence of brain tumours. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the patients with recurrent brain tumours and their reaction to the illness.