Study reports good outcome for polio survivors

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Childhood polio survivors are not disadvantaged as they get older.
Childhood polio is a contagious viral illness that hit the USA in the early 1950s. In 1952, it claimed 3,000 lives but was slowed by mass immunization from the mid 1950s. The survivors of childhood polio naturally have concerns over the long-term impact of the disease.

A new study from the Mayo Clinic has followed up 50 childhood polio survivors whose average age was 53 at the beginning. On average, they had lived for 40 years since their bout of childhood polio. Their strength and loss of neurons was measured three times over the 15 years of the study. Modest declines were found. But this decline was no greater than that seen for people of that age who had not had childhood polio. Few of the survivors needed to make huge changes in lifestyle because of the combination of residual weakness and normal aging. However, childhood polio survivors are very sensitive to any loss of strength - maybe because of their past experience. But they should be reassured by the fact that measurements show they are not actually weaker than others of their age who did not have childhood polio.

Source
Mayo Clinic 21st August 2006

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