Aminoff Suffering Syndrome in advanced Alzheimer's disease and end-of-life: First 10 years

The Aminoff Suffering Syndrome in advanced Alzheimer disease and end-oflife is characterized by a high Mini Suffering State Examination (MSSE) scale score, less than 6 months survival, irreversible and intractable aggravation of suffering and actively dying medical condition until demise. The Aminoff Suffering Syndrome was first defined by us, presented and published 10 years ago in the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer’s disease and Related Disorders (Madrid, 2007). Its diagnosis in end-of-life was performed by measuring the suffering level of patients by evaluating the Mini Suffering State Examination (MSSE) scale score. The treatment of patients with Aminoff Suffering Syndrome at the end of life is a great challenge to medical and nursing personnel. The diagnosis of Aminoff Suffering Syndrome opens new horizons in the approach to anguish at end-of-life and provides a novel method for identifying advanced Alzheimer’s disease patients that require immediate palliative treatment. Abbreviation: ASS: Aminoff Suffering Syndrome, MSSE: Mini Suffering State Examination, SM–EOLD: Symptom Management in End-of-Life in Dementia; CAD–EOLD: Comfort Assessment in Dying with Dementia Quote: The suffering of patients is not a function of disease; it is a function of inadequate medical and nursing care[1].