Post-polio syndrome, which could leave victims using wheelchairs or ventilators, affects up to 40 per cent of polio survivors, says a report released Monday by the March of Dimes. Researchers have had difficulty alerting doctors and potential victims of the ailment to its dangers, partly because most people think polio is no longer a problem. The March of Dimes is a voluntary health agency that works to improve the health of infants by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. There is no definitive test for post-polio syndrome and most doctors are unfamiliar with it, Howson said in an interview. The major symptoms, which include progressive muscle weakness, severe fatigue and pain in the muscles and joints, are common to a host of other conditions.
Polio eradication is one of the successes of modern medicine.
Ironically, the syndrome appears most likely to strike those polio victims who successfully rehabilitated themselves after the initial attack. When I did that my life opened up for me. And he actually began to cry. The causes of post-polio syndrome are not well understood. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that it results from a degeneration of motor nerves that sprouted new connections years earlier to make up for other nerves killed by polio.