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Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8).

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DEFINITION OF POST-POLIO SYNDROME
By Tom Walter

What is PPS? Post-Polio Syndrome, or PPS, is a name that has been adopted to indicate a constellation of NEW symptoms that occur an average of 31 years -- generally ranging from 20 to 40 years -- after the onset of the initial polio infection and after a period of "recovery" of at least 10 years.

These symptoms often include NEW weakness, pain, breathing and/or swallowing difficulties, a variety of sleep disorders, muscle twitching (known as "fasiculations"), gastrointestinal problems, muscle fatigue and/or "central" fatigue. And these symptoms can occur in previously-affected muscles and/or in what were previously thought to be muscles that were not affected at onset.

Complications often include neuropathies, nerve entrapments, arthritis, scoliosis, osteoporosis and, sometimes, additional atrophy -- known as Post-Polio Muscular Atrophy (PPMA).

There are no definitive tests to determine a diagnosis of PPS -- so it is done by history and ruling out other possible causes that mimic these symptoms. Those who were most affected by the virus at initial onset AND who made the best recovery seem to have the worst PPS symptoms later on.

And no certain cause for this condition has been found. There is known to be a failure at the neuromuscular junction -- and probably the most popularly-held theory is that nerves and/or muscles that have been "overworked" are failing prematurely.

There is also known to be an impairment in the production of various hormones and neurotransmitters -- but the cause of that reduction is also unknown: perhaps due to damage to the central nervous system done by the virus? or lack of "normal" feedback now to the brain by nerves and/or muscles?

Onset of PPS is usually gradual, over a period of years -- but sometimes abrupt, with major losses of function suffered over several months or a couple of years. Onset often occurs after a physical or emotional trauma, illness or accident.

This article courtesy of  P.R.Y.S. Foundation, Inc.