Post-Polio
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Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) is a condition that can
strike polio survivors anywhere from 10 to 40 years after their
recovery from polio. PPS is caused by the death of individual nerve
terminals in the motor units that remain after the initial polio
attack. Symptoms include fatigue, slowly progressive muscle
weakness, muscle and joint pain, and muscular atrophy. The severity
of PPS depends upon how seriously the survivors were affected by the
first polio attack. Doctors estimate the incidence of PPS at about
25 percent of the survivor population. The only way to be sure a
person has PPS is through a neurological examination aided by other
laboratory studies (for example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
neuroimaging, electrophysiological studies, and muscle biopsies or
spinal fluid analysis).
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At present, no treatment can cure or prevent PPS.
Some experimental drug treatments, including pyridostigmine and
seligiline, show promise in treating symptoms of the disorder.
Doctors recommend that polio survivors follow standard healthful
lifestyle practices: consuming a healthful diet, exercising in
moderation, and visiting a doctor regularly.
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PPS is a very slowly progressing condition that is
marked by long periods of stability. PPS patients, compared with
control populations, do not show any elevation in antibodies against
the polio virus, and since PPS affects only certain muscle groups,
doctors question whether the polio virus can cause a persistent
infection in humans. Except in people with severe respiratory
impairment, PPS is not usually life-threatening.
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Scientists are studying a number of possible treatments
for post-polio syndrome, including insulin-like growth factor
(IGF-1) and other growth factors. Other researchers are looking at
the mechanisms behind fatigue, and trying to tease out information
from the brain, muscles, and neuromuscular junction (the site at
which a nerve cell meets the muscle it helps activate). Scientists
are also trying to determine if there is an immunological link in
this disorder
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Post-Polio Health International
Polio
Connection of America
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
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