Dyspnoea, defined as a sensation of an uncomfortable awareness of breathing, is one of the most frightening and distressing symptoms for patients with cancer. It is very common in cancer patients with and without direct lung involvement. The gold standard of diagnosis and assessment is the patient's self-report. Measurements of respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and arterial blood gases do not measure dyspnoea. Fast, safe, and effective relief of the symptom is possible whether or not identifiable reversible causes exist. Opioids are the first line of therapy for such relief. Medical management can be directed at the underlying cause when the potential benefits outweigh the burdens of such treatment. In rare cases for which symptomatic treatment does not control dyspnoea to the patient's satisfaction, sedation is an effective, ethical option.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(02)00713-1 | DOI Listing |
Physiother Theory Pract
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Introduction: Standing balance is essential for physical functioning. Therefore, improving balance control is a key priority in the management of knee osteoarthritis (OA), underscoring the importance of accurately assessing standing balance.
Purpose: To assess reliability, construct validity and responsiveness of common clinical balance tests, including Step Test, Single-Leg Stance Test, and Functional Reach Test, in patients with knee OA.
J Asthma
January 2025
Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
Objective: Asthma poses a significant health burden in South Asia, with increasing incidence and mortality despite a global decline in age-standardized prevalence rates. This study aims to analyze asthma trends from 1990 to 2021, focusing on prevalence, incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) across South Asia. The study also assesses the impact of risk factors like high body mass index (BMI), smoking, and occupational exposures on asthma outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Int Med Res
January 2025
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Objective: To evaluate whether there is an association between maternal mental health, purchase of psychotropic drugs, socioeconomic status and major congenital anomalies in offspring.
Methods: A register-based cohort study of 6189 Finnish primiparous women who had a singleton delivery between 2009 and 2015. Data on pregnancy and delivery outcomes, psychiatric diagnosis, prescription drug purchases and offspring congenital anomalies were obtained from Finnish national registers.
Curr Neuropharmacol
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, DIFAR, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano 4, 16148, Genoa, Italy.
The central nervous system (CNS) is not an immune-privileged compartment, but it is intimately intertwined with the immune system. Among the components shared by the two compartments is the complement, a main constituent of innate immunity, which is also produced centrally and controls the development and organization of synaptic connections. Complement is considered a doubled-faced system that, besides controlling the physiological development of the central network, also subserves synaptic engulfment pivotal to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Neuropharmacol
January 2025
2-nd Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is increasingly targeted by various noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial current stimulation protocols in a range of neuropsychiatric and other brain disorders. The rationale for this therapeutic modulation remains elusive. A model is proposed, and up-to-date evidence is discussed, suggesting that the dlPFC is a high-level cortical centre where uncertainty management, movement facilitation, and cardiovascular control processes are intertwined and integrated to deliver optimal behavioural responses in particular environmental or emotional contexts.
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