You have the diagnosis of Motor Neuron Disease (MND), and it is a progressive neurodegenerative ailment therapy without cure in this time. This seriously affects the motor neurons lying in the brain and the spinal cord, which sends nerve impulses to the muscles to move. The absence of these nerve impulses results in a failure in movement by the muscles due to weakness and stiffness to lifelessness. MND impairs walking, speaking, eating, and breathing. Thousands of people get affected by it every year, and one in every three people dies within one year and more than half within two years.
Understanding Motor Neuron Disease and Its Impact
Motor neuron disease (MND) is an extremely serious and progressive neurological condition that destroys motor neurons in both the brain and spinal cord, and sends messages to muscles to do important things like walking, speaking, eating, and breathing. Blockage of the messages results in wasting, stiffening, and eventual failure of the muscles. There is no treatment available for this disease, making it progressively impossible for any human being to carry out daily activities. MND affects an individual on several levels: physically, mentally, and emotionally. The patients are not much able to live by themselves; hence it affects their quality of life significantly.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
It defines the growing field of psychotherapy that involves Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) elements in addition to acceptance and mindfulness strategies. It is primarily meant to accept aversive feelings and thoughts instead of avoiding them, thus giving an individual better mental stability and capacity.This, in turn, would enable the quality of life to improve.
Largest ever ACT clinical trial
Such studies continue to highlight the diversity of research on psychological therapies for MND patients: a fresh project by scientists at the University of Sheffield and the University College London (UCL) — namely, the COMMEND study — is the biggest clinical trial ever undertaken to assess a psychological intervention’s usefulness for persons with MND. The combined therapy of ACT, alongside typical medical treatment, was found to improve MND patients significantly at six and nine months in terms of quality of life.
The study was made up of 191 participants across 16 MND care centers throughout the UK. Participants were randomized into two groups. One group was treated with the combination of ACT therapy and standard treatment, while the other received standard treatment. Results clearly indicate that ACT-treated patients sustain or improve some mentioned parameters of quality of life in meaningfully clinical terms. Importantly, no negative side effects were found from ACT therapy.
Leading experts’ opinion
Professor Chris McDermott, Professor of Translational Neurology at the University of Sheffield and joint lead of the study, stated, “The COMMEND study shows that individually tailored psychological support can have a profound impact on the quality of life of people with MND.”
There is no real cure, but a multiplicity of interventions would surely assist those suffering from the disease to maintain their mental well-being and enhance the quality of life. It is worth emphasizing that mental distress and a poor quality of life are strongly correlated, leading to a shortening of life expectancy and an increase in suicide risk. Therefore, one major achievement remains the application of ACT therapy.What makes ACT therapy unique?
ACT therapy has been proved to be very useful for individuals suffering from chronic and lethal diseases. The treatment encourages people to accept unpleasant feelings instead of faking or repressing them to avoid stress and to help them live in the present. The therapy instead teaches understanding and acceptance of life, instead of trying to control it, which improves the quality of it.
Management of the study
Benjamin Thompson, study manager from the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Sheffield, said:
“Recruitment of participants for a rare disease such as MND is always challenging, but we were successful in recruiting the target number of participants for this study, making this the largest clinical trial ever conducted to demonstrate the need for psychological treatments for MND.” MND Association role and approach Chris Bennett, Head of Regional Services and Partnerships at the MND Association, said
“We know many people living with MND want help coping with the psychological effects of living with this disease, but often times that help does not come soon enough. The COMMEND study shows that psychological support such as ACT therapy can prove effective. Now that assertion needs to be converted into action and that psychological support becomes part of the standard medical package so more people can benefit.”
Study support and funding
This was funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Motor Neuron Disease Association.
Conclusions
The study has proved that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) along with the conventional practice greatly improved a patient’s quality of life with MND. There is still research going on to find a cure for the disease, but this kind of psychological therapy gives patients suffering from the disease some hope at this time. This research is a very important step not only in medicine but also in supporting patients’ mental well-being.
