Publications by authors named "R Orrell"
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care for improving quality of life in people with motor neuron disease (COMMEND): a multicentre, parallel, randomised controlled trial in the UK.
Lancet
June 2024
Background: Motor neuron disease is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychological therapy incorporating acceptance, mindfulness, and behaviour change techniques. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ACT plus usual care, compared with usual care alone, for improving quality of life in people with motor neuron disease.
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- - Secondary prevention with penicillin is crucial to avoiding repeat acute rheumatic fever and reducing the risk of rheumatic heart disease (RHD), though penicillin allergy reported by 10% of the population complicates this effort.
- - A comprehensive review of literature revealed no studies specifically addressing penicillin allergy testing in our initial context, but findings from other populations indicated low confirmed allergy rates and very limited severe reactions (less than 1-3 per 1000 treated).
- - Research on penicillin allergy delabeling showed that direct oral drug challenges resulted in fewer minor allergic reactions compared to skin testing, with no cases of anaphylaxis or fatalities; confirming or clearing penicillin allergies appears safe and has a low risk of adverse
Dyspnea (breathlessness) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease: prevalence, progression, severity, and correlates.
Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener
August 2024
Objective: Dyspnea, or breathlessness, is an important symptom in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND). We examined the measurement properties of the Dyspnea-12.
Methods: Rasch analysis enabled conversion of raw Dyspnea-12 scores to interval level metric equivalents.
Article Synopsis
- Motor neuron disease (MND) is a serious condition that weakens muscles, and there's a lack of effective strategies for managing the psychological distress faced by those living with it.
- This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a treatment for individuals with MND, involving 29 participants who received ACT sessions along with their usual care.
- Results showed that the study successfully recruited participants and most engaged with the therapy, indicating potential benefits in reducing anxiety and improving psychological quality of life, although some participants experienced a decline in their physical health status.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a complex disorder most of which is 'sporadic' of unknown origin but approximately 10% is familial, arising from single mutations in any of more than 30 genes. Thus, there are more than 30 familial ALS subtypes, with different, often unknown, molecular pathologies leading to a complex constellation of clinical phenotypes. We have mouse models for many genetic forms of the disorder, but these do not, on their own, necessarily show us the key pathological pathways at work in human patients.
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