Hacer frente a la Esclerosis Lateral miotrófica: La capacidad de resiliencia

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative illness that causes a progressive loss of physical functions. It leads to death within few years from symptoms onset. Nowadays, there is no cure. However, quality of life and psychological well-being are not always correlated to the illness. Even if quality of life has been studied by previous works, only few of them have investigated the role of resilience abilities. Twenty-five ALS subjects filled McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Resilience Scale for Adults. Results indicate that resilience scores are slightly lower than general population. Resilience had a significant and positive correlation with quality of life and was negatively related to both anxiety and depression. ALS patient may be helped in the facing of illness by resilience factors, in particular by family cohesion and social support. © 2011 Fundación AIGLÉ.