Post-polio sequelae

We report the case of a 72-year-old man who had contracted acute paralytic poliomyelitis in his childhood. Thereafter, he had suffered from paresis involving the left lower limb, with no relapse or progression of the disease. He began noticing slowly progressive muscle weakness and atrophy in the upper and lower extremities in his 60s. At the age of 72, muscle weakness developed rapidly, and he demonstrated dyspnea on exertion and dysphagia. He died after about 14 years from the onset of muscle weakness symptoms...

Approximately 7,000 Danes are still living with sequelae after surviving an acute polio infection. Late effects of polio include deformities, arthrosis and overloaded muscles. In the long run polio patients are at risk of having a further decrease of muscle function and a wide variety of other symptoms, a condition called post-polio syndrome (PPS). Treatment of PPS is in general symptomatic. Recently it has been shown that treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin may have an effect on pain, tiredness and walking distance...

INTRODUCTION: Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease whose initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headaches, vomiting, a stiff neck and pains in the limbs. In many cases, the sequelae are irreversible paralysis and may result in death if there is bulbar or respiratory compromise. A set of symptoms, called post-polio syndrome, which appears years after the acute infection, are also described. AIM: To analyse the way poliomyelitis has been dealt with in literature, cinema and television...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between self-reported severity of polio sequelae and current functional status among polio survivors. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study of 195 polio survivors attending a polio outpatient clinic at a university hospital. The main outcome measures of demographic, medical, social, and functional data were gleaned from a questionnaire adapted for the polio population. The severity of polio sequelae was evaluated with the self-reported Index of Post-Polio Sequelae (IPPS)...

BACKGROUND: No studies have examined the association between RLS and the sequelae of poliomyelitis (PM). We studied the frequency and severity of RLS in a group of consecutive patients with the sequelae of poliomyelitis (PM) and the effect of treatment with dopaminergic drugs. METHODS: A diagnosis of RLS was made according to the criteria of the International RLS Study Group, and severity was assessed by the RLS rating scale. Information on sex, age, age at onset, site affected by PM, disease duration of PM, and history of post-polio syndrome (pPS) was obtained in a cohort of 52 PM patients...

An Australia-wide questionnaire survey was conducted of 318 people who contracted polio between 1907 and 1962. It examined their medical histories, post-polio symptoms, effects of these symptoms on respondent's lives, and treatments found to be effective or ineffective. The average respondent was experiencing increasing muscle weakness, pain and fatigue. These imposed major restrictions on daily living activities and resulted in fear and depression. Physiotherapists were the allied health professionals most likely to be consulted...

Isolated coronal fracture of medial femoral condyle with intact lateral femoral condyle is extremely rare. A high index of suspicion is necessary for early diagnosis especially in cases of undisplaced fractures. Here we report a case of medial Hoffa fracture in a post-polio limb presenting as chronic pain. Management of such fractures in limbs affected by late sequelae of poliomyelitis is particularly problematic in view of osteoporosis and osseous hypoplasia. The fracture was approached through medial parapatellar arthrotomy and fixation was done with cannulated cancellous screws in anteroposterior direction...

Excitement mounts as the global health and international development communities anticipate a polio-free world. Despite substantial political and logistical hurdles, only 223 cases of wild poliovirus in three countries were reported in 2012. Down 99% from the estimated 350,000 annual cases in 125 countries in 1988-this decline signals the imminent global eradication of polio. However, elimination of new polio cases should not also signal an end to worldwide engagement with polio. As many as 20 million continue to live with the disabling consequences of the disease...

Environmental pollution is a complex issue because of the diversity of anthropogenic agents, both chemical and physical, that have been detected and catalogued. The consequences to biota from exposure to genotoxic agents present an additional problem because of the potential for these agents to produce adverse change at the cellular and organism levels. Past studies in virus have focused on structural damage to the DNA of environmental species that may occur after exposure to genotoxic agents and the use of this information to document exposure and to monitor remediation...

Post-polio syndrome (PPS) refers to a clinical disorder affecting polio survivors with sequelae years after the initial polio attack. These patients report new musculoskeletal symptoms, loss of muscular strength or endurance. PPS patients are tired, in pain and experience new and unusual muscular deficits, on healthy muscles as well as deficient muscles initially affected by the Poliovirus. Once a clinical diagnosis is established, the therapeutic options can be discussed. Some pathophysiological mechanisms have been validated by research studies on PPS (inflammatory process in cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] and cytokines of the immune system)...

OBJECTIVE: We estimate that there are about 50,000 persons who survived poliomyelitis in their childhood in France (mean age estimated between 50 and 65 years). After a few decades of stability, 30 to 65% of individuals who had been infected and recovered from polio begin to experience new signs and symptoms. METHOD: Review of the literature on Pubmed with the following keywords "Poliomyelitis" and "Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS)". RESULTS: These new signs and symptoms are characterized by muscular atrophy (decreased muscle mass), muscle weakness and fatigue, muscle and/or joint pain...

Since the early days of Jenner, vaccination against infectious agents appeared a very efficacious way for preventing millions of deaths and patients with serious sequelae. However, only limited success has been obtained in eradicating infectious diseases. Smallpox is the only human infectious disease that has been eradicated so far by vaccination, and eradication of polio is in its endgame. Data from the WHO in 2003 show that 2.5 million children under five still die from vaccine preventable diseases, but many more die from the major microbial killers in the world, i...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes over time in a clinically based cohort of individuals with post-polio syndrome. DESIGN: A prospective longitudinal study. SUBJECTS: A total of 106 individuals with poliomyelitis sequelae were included in the study. They were self-referred or had been referred to the post-polio clinic. After 4 years subjects were called for a follow-up and underwent the same measurements as at the initial assessment. METHODS: The following measurements were conducted at both the initial assessment, and the follow-up: questionnaires including Nottingham Health Profile, muscle strength and walking speed...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the users of home mechanical ventilation treatment in Iceland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Records for all patients in Iceland using noninvasive ventilatory support at home on April 30th 1999 were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 54 patients were using ventilatory support at home. There were 33 males and 21 females. The mean age for the group was 61 years. The mean treatment time was 3.5 years. The majority were using pressure controlled ventilators that were connected to a nose mask or full face mask...

INTRODUCTION: Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is recognised as a clinical syndrome that causes the late, progressive functional impairment suffered by survivors of an acute episode of poliomyelitis. The importance of PPS is acknowledged by increasingly wider sectors of the population and health care sectors; nevertheless, few reports have been published about its epidemiology or its clinical characteristics and treatment. AIM: To review the current scientific evidence available on the clinical manifestations, risk factors, prevalence, diagnosis and recommendations for treatment of PPS...

PURPOSE: This present study describes the development, factor structure and initial validation of the Index of Post-Polio Sequelae (IPPS). METHOD: The IPPS was tested on a sample of 849 community-dwelling polio survivors between the ages of 40 and 93 years old who participated in a large, national study of menopause and aging in late polio. Items from the IPPS were submitted to a factor analysis using principal components extraction and rotated to oblique simple structure using promax rotation...

We report a 69-year-old man who developed paralytic poliomyelitis in childhood and then decades later suffered from fatal respiratory failure. Six months before this event, he had progressive weight loss and shortness of breath. He had severe muscular atrophy of the entire right leg as a sequela of the paralytic poliomyelitis. He showed mild weakness of the facial muscle and tongue, dysarthria, and severe muscle atrophy from the neck to proximal upper extremities and trunk, but no obvious pyramidal signs. Electromyogram revealed neurogenic changes in the right leg, and in the paraspinal, sternocleidomastoid, and lingual muscles...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the occurrence of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) in Brazil between 1995 and 2001 and to determine the level of risk for this adverse event. METHODS: This retrospective study utilized data from acute flaccid paralysis investigation and notification records from the Ministry of Health in Brazil. Cases were defined as individuals with a diagnosis of acute flaccid paralysis and a positive stool culture or sequelae compatible with poliomyelitis appearing up to 60 days after the beginning of motor impairment...

OBJECTIVES: To review systematically studies of late-onset polio sequelae on the course of functional status and muscle strength over time and to identify prognostic factors of change. DATA SOURCES: We conducted a computerized literature search up to July 2004 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and the Cochrane controlled trial register using the key words: postpolio, postpoliomyelitis, postpoliomyelitis syndrome, post poliomyelitis muscular atrophy, and poliomyelitis...

This is a comparative analysis of findings from a sample of individuals who had poliomyelitis with findings from seminal works on post polio syndrome. The sample included 148 individuals who developed poliomyelitis earlier in life. The findings are compared with the seminal studies of Halstead (1985a, 1985b). Seventy-two percent of the sample were experiencing post polio syndrome, defined as having progressive fatigue and one other symptom of sequelae to a moderate or severe degree. The mean age of the sample was 54...