Nazem Atassi
Harvard Medical School, Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI), Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Bigelow 1256, Boston, MA 02114,
Tanzania
Research Article
Functional Decline is Associated with Hopelessness in Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (ALS)
Author(s): Sabrina Paganoni, Erin McDonnell, David Schoenfeld, Hong Yu, Jing Deng, Hamza Atassi, Alexander Sherman, Padmaja Yerramilli-Rao, Merit Cudkowicz and Nazem AtassiSabrina Paganoni, Erin McDonnell, David Schoenfeld, Hong Yu, Jing Deng, Hamza Atassi, Alexander Sherman, Padmaja Yerramilli-Rao, Merit Cudkowicz and Nazem Atassi
Objective: To determine the relationships between hopelessness, depression, quality of life, and disease progression in ALS. Methods: Hopelessness and depression were assessed prospectively in a cohort of people with ALS using the Beck Hopelessness scale (BHS) and the ALS Depression Inventory (ADI-12), respectively. ALS Specific Quality of Life and measures of functional status (ALSFRS-R and forced vital capacity) were collected. Associations between changes in psychological health and functional scores were calculated using Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: Twenty-five people with ALS had at least 2 visits and were followed for a mean of 11 (± 6) months. People with hopelessness and depression reported worse quality of life (p<0.01 for both associations). Decline in function between any two visits measured by ALSFRS-R (p<0.01) and FVC (p=0.02) correlated with.. View More»
