Palliative care in neurology

Abstract

Palliative care in neurology is characterized by the need of taking into account some distinguishing features which supplement and often differ from the general palliative approach to cancer or to severe organ failures. Such position is emphasized by a new concept of palliative assistance which is not limited to the "end of life" stage, as it was the traditional one, but is applied along the entire course of progressive, life-limiting, and disabling conditions. There are various reasons accounting for a differentiation of palliative care in neurology and for the development of specific expertise; the long duration of the advanced stages of many neurological diseases and the distinguishing features of some clinical problems (cognitive disorders, psychic disorders, etc.), in addition to the deterioration of some general aspects (nutrition, etc.), make the general criteria adopted for cancer, severe respiratory, hepatic or renal failures and heart failure inadequate. The neurological diseases which could benefit from the development of a specific palliative approach are dementia, cerebrovascular diseases, movement disorders, neuromuscular diseases, severe traumatic brain injury, brain cancers and multiple sclerosis, as well as less frequent conditions. The growing literature on palliative care in neurology provides evidence of the neurological community's increasing interest in taking care of the advanced and terminal stages of nervous system diseases, thus encouraging research, training and updating in such direction. This document aims to underline the specific neurological requirements concerning the palliative assistance.