A qualitative exploratory study into medical, nursing and allied health professional experiences of elective withdrawal of non-invasive ventilation in a motor neurone disease cohort.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: With absence of a cure, the mainstay of management for patients with motor neurone disease (MND) is holistic supportive care and symptom control. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) can provide relief from distressing dyspnoea which often accompanies progressive respiratory muscle weakness. Some patients using NIV will become dependent on it, with a small proportion of these patients going on to request withdrawal.

A study of prisms and therapy in attention loss after stroke (SPATIAL): A feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Investigate feasibility and acceptability of prism adaptation training for people with inattention (spatial neglect), early after stroke, during usual care.

Design: Phase II feasibility randomised controlled trial with 3:1 stratified allocation to standard occupational therapy with or without intervention, and nested process evaluation.

Setting: Ten hospital sites providing in-patient stroke services.

Stakeholder Requirements for an Ethical Framework to Sustain Multiple Research Projects in an Emerging Living Lab Involving Older Adults.

Living Lab (LL) research should follow clear ethical guidelines and principles. While these exist in specific disciplinary contexts, there is a lack of tailored and specific ethical guidelines for the design, development, and implementation of LL projects. As well as the complexity of these dynamic and multi-faceted contexts, the engagement of older adults, and adults with reducing cognitive and physical capacity in LL research, poses additional ethical challenges.

Gaining face or losing face? Framing the debate on face transplants.

An American surgical team has announced its intention to perform the first human facial transplantation. The team has, however, invited further analysis of the ethical issues before it proceeds and in this paper we take up that challenge in seeking to frame the debate with a particular focus on the recipients of the transplant. We address seven related areas of concern and identify numerous questions that require answers or, perhaps, better answers.