Post Polio Syndrome

Post polio syndrome is a condition that can affect those people who had been infected and recovered from poliomyelitis. After 15 to 30 years of recovery, they may develop symptoms like muscle weakness, pain and fatigue. This condition may affect muscles which were earlier infected by poliomyelitis or new ones. Even though this is not a life-threatening condition, doctors in United States feel that more than 300,000 people may be affected by this condition in the country.

Symptoms

The symptoms of post polio syndrome vary from person to person. It can be severe in some individuals, but very mild in others. It is believed that the severity of the initial attack of poliomyelitis can be determined by the symptoms of post polio syndrome. Individuals, who had a severe attack of poliomyelitis and a greater recovery, are more prone to grave symptoms. Symptoms of post polio syndrome include general and muscular fatigue, pain from joint degeneration, decrease in muscle mass (muscular atrophy) and even scoliosis (curvature of spine). Fatigue is the most common disabling symptom, which can escalate other symptoms. Post polio syndrome can also cause breathing trouble, discomfort in swallowing, sleep-related disorders, etc. Weakness may appear in limbs that were originally infected or those which were not affected at the time of the initial attack. People who were highly active (physical activity) after recovering from poliomyelitis are also likely to be affected by severe symptoms.

Causes

Till date, there are no specific causes for the occurrence of a post polio syndrome. Though there are many hypotheses behind the causes of this condition, the neural fatigue theory fits into the slow progression of the condition, marked with periods of stable health. According to this theory, the initial poliomyelitis attack causes death of nerve cells or motor neurons, which control skeletal muscles. A motor unit is a neuron along with the muscle fibers it activates. During the process of recovery, the surviving motor neurons develop new nerve cells to the orphaned muscle fibers. This results in enlarged motor unit, which in turn helps in restoring movement.

As per this theory, with the passage of time, the nerve cell in the enlarged motor unit experiences metabolic stress due to the additional responsibility. This leads to slow impairment of the new nerve cells and permanent damage to the original nerve cell. This causes weakness and in some cases, paralysis too.

Diagnosis and Treatment

There are no specific tests to diagnose post polio syndrome. It is difficult to distinguish the symptoms of this disease from the normal signs of aging. The main factors which can be helpful in diagnosing the condition are the initial attacks of poliomyelitis and recovery, long interval of stable health, gradual onset of weakness, and pain. The other task of the doctors is to eliminate other possible causes of the symptoms. Neuromuscular examinations combined with some laboratory tests like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies, muscle biopsies, or spinal fluid analysis, can help in diagnosing this condition.

Presently, no specific treatment is there for this condition. It includes various measures to reduce pain and fatigue, increase strength and overall quality of life. This can be achieved through medications, judicious exercise under the supervision of qualified professionals, using recommended mobility aids like powered wheelchairs, breathing exercises, stop smoking, weight loss in case of an obese persons, etc.

Post polio syndrome is neither a life-threatening disease nor a second attack of poliomyelitis. Always try to consult your doctor at the earliest and don't let the condition affect the quality of your life.