Community Knowledge of Law on End-of-life Decision-making: An Australian Telephone Survey.

The law has a clear role to play in supporting patients and their substitute decision-makers (SDMs) to be involved in end-of-life (EOL) decision-making. Although existing literature suggests that knowledge of EOL law is variable among health professionals, there is little information about the extent and sources of such knowledge within the general community. A telephone survey of a representative sample of adults in three Australian States used six case scenarios to examine the extent to which adults know their legal duties, rights and powers as patients or SDMs; the sources from which people derive relevant legal knowledge; experiences of EOL decision-making; and individual characteristics associated with levels of knowledge.

Prevalence of advance care directives in the community: a telephone survey of three Australian States.

Background: The community prevalence of advance care directives (ACD) is low despite known benefits of advance care planning for patients, families and health professionals.

Aim: To determine the community prevalence of instructional and appointing ACD in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and factors associated with completion of these documents.

Methods: A telephone survey of adults living in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland (n = 1175) about completion of instructional ACD (making their own decisions about future healthcare) and appointing ACD (appointing another to decide).

In-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy of Meissner's corpuscles in diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy.

Objective: To evaluate in-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) of Meissner's corpuscles (MC) in diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSP).

Methods: Forty-three adults with diabetes and 21 control subjects underwent RCM of MC density at the fingertip of digit V, thenar eminence (TE), and arch of the foot, ankle skin biopsy for epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFD), electrophysiological studies, monofilament threshold testing, and timed vibration at the toe. Subjects with diabetes were subdivided into groups with and without clinical DSP using the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) case definition and neuropathy outcomes were compared across groups.

Dissociation of Structural and Functional Integrities of the Motor System in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Behavioral-Variant Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Purpose: This study investigated the structural and functional changes in the motor system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; n=25) and behavioral-variant fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD; n=17) relative to healthy controls (n=37).

Methods: Structural changes were examined using a region-of-interest approach, applying voxel-based morphometry for gray-matter changes and diffusion tensor imaging for white-matter changes. Functional changes in the motor system were elucidated using threshold-tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measurements of upper motor-neuron excitability.

Patient identification of the symptomatic impact of charcot-marie-tooth disease type 1A.

Objective: The burden of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A), the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy, including impact on patient quality of life (QOL) is not well understood. This study aims to qualitatively describe the range of symptoms associated with CMT1A and impact on QOL.

Methods: We performed qualitative interviews with 16 adult CMT1A patients.

HIV neuropathy: an in vivo confocal microscopic study.

Several approaches exist for quantitative assessment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP). While useful, each has some limitations. This study evaluated non-invasive, in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) of Meissner corpuscles (MCs) as a measure of HIV-DSP.

In vivo confocal microscopy of Meissner corpuscles as a novel sensory measure in CMT1A.

Reliable, valid, and responsive outcomes for different aspects of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy have become increasingly important in an emerging era of therapy development. Measures of the sensory component of CMT in particular are limited. One novel approach with potential applicability to CMT is non-invasive in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) of Meissner corpuscles (MCs).

Conduction slowing in diabetic distal polyneuropathy.

The pathophysiologic significance of motor conduction slowing observed in diabetic distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSP) remains controversial. We have used multiple linear regression analysis of compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude vs. motor conduction velocity (CV) and distal latency (DL) in 57 patients with diabetic DSP and 34 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to determine whether motor conduction slowing in diabetic DSP is due mainly to loss of large axons as in ALS or whether there is an additional demyelinative component.