About this Research Topic
Palliative care has recently been addressed in the oncological world, and it is just now reaching the field of Neurology.
In the past years, neurology has moved from being a purely diagnostic area to a very therapeutically active one. A further step needs to be taken to modify the therapeutic activity from "cure" to "care" depending on the patient’s disease trajectory. In addition, care should extend over the death of the patients and include psychological support for their relatives during bereavement. This also means dealing with the existential and, sometimes frightening, aspect of the “futility” of life, that touches everyone involved in terminal illnesses. Neurologists must come to terms with this fact to provide the best and optimal care to the patients.
We welcome contributions pertaining to this new and evolving topic, which is multidisciplinary in nature, and of interest to a range of professions, both within and outside of clinical settings. We consequently also encourage contributions which are non-medical.
In the past years, neurology has moved from being a purely diagnostic area to a very therapeutically active one. A further step needs to be taken to modify the therapeutic activity from "cure" to "care" depending on the patient’s disease trajectory. In addition, care should extend over the death of the patients and include psychological support for their relatives during bereavement. This also means dealing with the existential and, sometimes frightening, aspect of the “futility” of life, that touches everyone involved in terminal illnesses. Neurologists must come to terms with this fact to provide the best and optimal care to the patients.
We welcome contributions pertaining to this new and evolving topic, which is multidisciplinary in nature, and of interest to a range of professions, both within and outside of clinical settings. We consequently also encourage contributions which are non-medical.
Keywords: palliative care, symptom control, bereavement, dying, psychological care
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
