Single Research Topic

Polio and Post-polio Syndrome

Polio is a naked, single-strand RNA-containing virus from the Picornoviridae family, one of the smallest viruses. The virus is spread through the fecal-oral route and is incubated for 7-14 days. It replicates on the tonsils of the throat and in the small intestines. It may also go to the lymph nodes of the neck and ileum, to the blood to cause viremia or to the central nervous system. Once it gets into the central nervous system, it may replicate in the motor neurons causing death of the motor neurons. The remaining motor neurons sprout new terminal axons that can innervate orphaned muscle cells to form a large mass of motor unit so that there is muscle activity. Most individuals who experience this will suffer from paralysis, which cause muscle weakness especially in the legs. Post-polio syndrome occurs in about a quarter of the individuals that had polio when they were a child. It is due to the failure of the over-sized motor units that was formed during the time the neurons innervated the orphaned muscle cells.

Polio was a major endemic in the early 1950’s affecting more than 50,000 Americans with a mortality rate of 12%. Luckily two types of vaccines, Salk’s and Sabin’s, were introduced and immediately wiped out the disease. However, 20-30 years later, people reported having, unexpected fatigue, pains in muscles and joints and especially muscle weakness due to degeneration of the motor neurons. After years of functionally of the large mass of motor neurons, they begin to break down causing weakness. This may be an unexpected problem for survivors of polio from the 1950’s.

The number of individuals that suffered from polio is relatively low because a vaccine was developed only a decade after the endemic occurred. However, my reason for choosing this topic is because I know someone that was infected with polio when they were a child and I would like to write an informative paper that might help survivors of this epidemic understand about post-polio syndrome. It is important to know about post-polio syndrome because maybe one day, scientists may find some type of treatment or prevention to the deterioration of muscle cells.

Is there a way to prevent post-polio syndrome from occurring?