Liver Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Liver Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Quality of life following liver transplantation: a comparative study between Familial Amyloid Neuropathy and liver disease patients.

Telles-Correia D, Cortez-Pinto H, Barbosa A, Mega I, Monteiro E

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal. tellesdiogo@gmail.com

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated in many studies that quality of life can be improved after liver transplantation in patients with liver disease. Nevertheless, quality of life improvement in specific groups of transplanted patients such as those with Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy has not yet been explored. The present study aimed to compare the change in quality of life following liver transplantation between patients with Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP) and patients with liver disease. RESULTS: Patient's mental quality of life showed an improvement in all liver disease patients, and a worsening in FAP patients, resulting in a significant difference between the two groups. Regarding physical quality of life, although a similar improvement was seen in both groups, FAP patients had significantly less improvement than the sub-group of decompensated liver disease (Child-Pugh B and C). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that liver transplantation has a less beneficial impact in FAP patient's physical quality of life, probably because they are not so much disabled by their disease at the moment of liver transplantation. The lesser improvement in mental quality of life of FAP patients may be due to their particular psychological profile and greater expectations towards transplantation.

Published 24 July 2009 in BMC Gastroenterol, 9: 54.
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