Health-related quality of life and perceived social support among cancer palliative patients in Saudi Arabia

Aim:This study aims to describe health-related quality of life(HRQL),identify factors associated with HRQL physical and mental health domains,and explore the association between perceived social supports and HRQL among cancer palliative patients in Saudi Arabia.Methods:A cross-sectional study is applied.The validated European Organization for Cancer Research and Treatment,the EORTC QLQ-15 palliative care scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS)have been used.A convenience sample of(N=301)palliative cancer patients was collected from two main regional cancer centers in Riyadh.Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis.Results:Results indicate that overall quality of life showed a significant positive correlation with perceived family and friend support,sub-factors of perceived social support.Regression analysis showed that the overall model experienced 69.0%of the variance for global health statutes with F(4,7)=7.149 P<0.001.Physical functioning,emotional functioning,and family support were found to be significant predictors of global health status.Family and Friend support were found to be significant positive predictors of emotional functioning.Conclusions:The inpatient and outpatient treatment can vary at different stages and in different areas,family and friend support has been highlighted as necessary in this context.Physical and emotional factors have been demonstrated in older age(geriatric)patients as they may have debilitating diseases that can limit their functioning hence support the case for more palliative care.

Neural Mechanism in Emotion Regulation by Simultaneous Recording of EEG and fMRI

The combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) is a very attractive aim in neuroscience in order to achieve both high temporal and spatial resolution for the non-invasive study of cognitive brain function. In this paper, we record simultaneous EEG-fMRI of the same subject in emotional processing experiment in order to explore the characteristics of different emotional picture processing, and try to find the difference of the subjects' brain hemisphere while viewing different valence emotional pictures. The late positive potential(LPP) is a reliable electrophysiological index of emotional perception in humans. According to the analysis results, the slow-wave LPP and visual cortical blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals are both modulated by the rated intensity of picture arousal. The amplitude of the LPP correlate significantly with BOLD intensity in visual cortex, amygdala, temporal area, prefrontal and central areas across picture contents.