Caring for ALS Patient Brings Emotional Strain

Mar. 23 -- MONDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- Family caregivers of patients suffering from debilitating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are at higher risk for depression than the patients they care for, Italian researchers report.

"Caregivers of ALS patients tend to be progressively more depressed and more burdened over time, whereas the patients remain more or less stable in term of depression and quality of life, even if they present a worsening of their clinical status," said study co-author Dr. Adriano Chio from the department of neuroscience at the University of Torino in Italy.

The findings are published in the March 20 issue of Neurology.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive, disabling neurodegenerative disorder that typically strikes people over 40. The illness targets neurons in the brain and spinal cord, provoking a progressive loss of muscle mass and control and, eventually, paralysis.

Most patients die within two to four years after diagnosis, the authors noted, usually as a result of respiratory failure.

While the approximately 30,000 Americans currently diagnosed with ALS do not face mental impairment, no treatment to date can cure or halt the disease's assault on motor functions. Just one FDA-approved drug, Rilutek, has demonstrated some ability to slow the degenerative illness. Ongoing clinical trials are testing new ways to treat the disease.

Chio's group examined the mental impact of caring for a loved one with ALS.

The study involved 31 male and female ALS patients along with their main caregiver. The caregiver was usually a family member, and in no case was he or she a paid medical professional.

Each patient and their respective caregiver received two psychologist-administered interviews -- one at the beginning and the end of the nine-month study period. Patients and caregivers were interviewed separately.

In terms of overall psychological well-being, the mental state of the patients remained more or less stable over the study's course, while that of the caregivers noticeably worsened, irrespective of either the caregiver's age or gender, the researchers found.