The contributors of emotional distress in painful diabetic neuropathy.

Aims: To examine the contribution of demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors to emotional distress in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (DN).

Methods: In total, 142 patients with confirmed painful DN underwent detailed clinical and self-assessment measures (Neuropathic Pain Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pain Acceptance Questionnaire and Pain Catastrophizing Scale).

Results: The prevalence of emotional distress was 51.

Transdermal opioids for cancer pain.

Purpose Of Review: Cancer patients with moderate-to-severe pain require opioids for analgesia. Whereas early guidelines recommend oral morphine as the 'drug of choice', newer synthetic opioids can be given by a reliable and effective nonoral transdermal route. We examine the mode of action of transdermal patches and we review the evidence on two drugs, which are currently available in this formulation - buprenorphine and fentanyl - covering physicochemical characteristics and pharmacokinetics of the patches, clinical efficacy data and adverse effects.

Breathlessness in cancer patients.

Breathlessness (or dyspnoea) is a common symptom experienced by cancer patients. It may be iatrogenic and is often caused or aggravated by co-morbidity. Recent studies have elucidated the neural and chemical controls of breathing which may be involved in the production of dyspnoea.

Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Malta between 1993 and 2005: a retrospective study.

Background: The primary aim of the study was to estimate the incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in Malta in a well-defined population during a 13-year study period.

Methods: Diagnostic criteria for CD and UC were defined. A diagnosis of IBD was obtained from the histopathology reports at St.

The impact of diabetes on psychological well being and quality of life. The role of patient education.

People with diabetes live in a society that does not understand their condition. The overall perception that people with serious diabetes inject insulin and that Type 2 diabetes is relatively mild remains rife within the general population and even with some health care professionals. To make the situation worse, only few people understand that diabetes is a condition that cannot be simply controlled by medications and that the presence of diabetes markedly alters the lives of individuals and their families.

The impact of Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy in diabetes: is it associated with left ventricular dysfunction?

Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy (CAN) is one of the least understood of all serious complications of diabetes. Besides increasing mortality, CAN may have various clinical sequelae including exercise intolerance, arrhythmias and painless myocardial infarction. But does it also cause left ventricular dysfunction? Patients with diabetes have a greater risk of developing congestive heart failure.