[Palliative care in non-cancerous diseases]

Palliative treatment is instituted at a particular point in the course of a potentially fatal disease. This palliative phase is often less well-defined than in cancer. Treatment mainly aims at slowing the course of the disease and maintaining the best quality of life possible for the patient. Palliative management of acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is complicated by the context of the disease, the specific symptoms during the palliative and terminal stages and by the discovery of new antiviral-treatments. The irreversible degeneration in successive steps observed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) requires coordination from the onset among the various actors participating in patient management. In extreme situations, when symptoms are uncontrollable, inducing sleep can be considered.