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OPAF Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) Awareness Initiative
Newspaper Articles
Five articles on Polio, Post Polio, and Warm Springs, Georgia
by M.A.J. McKenna staff writer, science and medicine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Article 1 • Article 2 • Article 3 • Article 4 • Article 5 •
Additional readings and information about polio and post polio
Back to main OPAF O&P Awareness page
Additional readings and information about polio and post polio
Research by M.A.J. McKENNA /Staff and DALE E. DODSON
POST POLIO SYNDROME
THE SCIENCE OF THE SYNDROME
Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is a highly infectious disease that damages nerves and can cause paralysis. It is caused by a virus and transmitted via water contaminated with fecal material. The virus enters the body through the mouth, multiplies in the intestines and then migrates to the central nervous system. It destroys spinal cord cells that are the starting point for nerves governing movement.
What is post-polio syndrome?
Many polio patients regain some use of their paralyzed limbs because the surviving motor nerves grow extra branches into the muscles, a process called axonal sprouting. The new sprouts are more fragile than the original nerve endings and give out sooner because so much extra stress is placed on them. Eventually, the sprouts begin to fail, causing the new muscle to grow weak.
Is there a cure for post-polio syndrome?
Researchers liken the syndrome to the effects of accelerated aging or severe muscle overuse. It is not life-threatening but can cause disability. Treatment usually involves lifestyle changes and assistive devices. Several drugs have been studied for their effect on post-polio, but results are disappointing. Physicians familiar with it are best at diagnosing the syndrome because chronic problems such as fibromyalgia and neurological diseases such as Parkinson's can produce similar symptoms.
WEB SITES
The Internet has played a significant role in uniting post-polio patients and helping them find treatment. A query to any major search engine will yield hundreds of sites devoted to post-polio syndrome. Here is a selection of some of the most authoritative.
For more information on Warm Springs, please click here.
Other major centers treating and researching post-polio syndrome:
Dr. Lauro Halstead, one of the key researchers into post-polio syndrome and the editor of an important consumer health guide to the problem, works at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, a private facility in Washington.Dr. Richard Bruno, a leading researcher into the psychology of post-polio as well as the physical symptoms, maintains a personal Web site that links to the hospital where his institute is housed.
General information on post-polio
A fact sheet from the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.
A fact sheet assembled by the March of Dimes, which was founded in the 1930s to combat polio.
A complete menu of links assembled by the Gazette International Networking Institute, the primary grass-roots organization for polio survivors.