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The aims of this study were: (i) to clarify the general quality of life (QOL) of patients with intractable neurological disease; (ii) to clarify the general QOL of the caregivers of these patients; and (iii) to explore the association of QOL in patient-caregiver pairs. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2003 and May 2004 among community-dwelling patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD), spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers using a mailed, self-administered questionnaire. To measure QOL, we used the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) for patients and the short form of the health-related QOL scale SF-36 (SF-8) for caregivers. A total of 418 questionnaires were analyzed. For the patients, all of the general QOL domains of the SF-36 were significantly lower than the national standard value for all of the diagnoses. Physical function, role physical, and role emotional domains were also low. For caregivers, all of the QOL summary scores of the SF-8 for all diagnoses were significantly lower than the national standard value. Although there were several significant correlations of QOL between patients and caregivers, overall the correlations were low. Support for patients with neurological diseases and their caregivers is needed in order to maintain physical and mental QOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to review the incidence of pressure ulcers in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on admission at a teaching hospital in Mie, Japan. 592 patients admitted to the neurological ward of Mie University Hospital from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2006 were reviewed. A retrospective analysis was conducted based on medical and nursing records about pressure ulcers among patients with ALS, parkinsonism (Parkinson's disease, multisystem atrophy, corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy) and other neurological diseases. 16 patients (12 males and four females) aged 36 to 87 years, 71.2 +/- 14.2 years old (mean +/- SD), were identified as having one or more pressure ulcers on admission. No patients developed a new pressure ulcer after admission. The number of patients with pressure ulcers on admission was two in 41 ALS patients, five in 126 parkinsonism patients and nine in 425 patients with other neurological diseases. A proportional analysis by χ2 test for the groups did not show a lower incidence of pressure ulcers in ALS patients. In conclusion, no differences were found in the incidence of pressure ulcers on admission among three neurological groups at a teaching hospital in Mie, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]