Active clinical trials for "Postpoliomyelitis Syndrome"

Polio or poliomyelitis is the disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus attacks cells in the spinal cord and causes symptoms of fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, and stiffness of the neck. Patients with polio can have long-term weakness of muscles as a result of the damaged cells in the spinal cord. Occasionally, patients that recover from the disease can experience a relapse of muscle weakness. This can occur as long as 25-35 years after first having polio. The condition is called "post-polio syndrome". Not all nerve cells in the spinal cord are damaged by the poliovirus. Some nerve cells remain healthy and take over the work of the damaged cells. Researchers believe that the "post-polio syndrome" may be caused by failure of these overworked nerve cells. However, what causes these overworked nerve cells to disintegrate is unknown. The purpose of this study is to apply specific scientific tests to answer important questions about the causes and development of the post-polio syndrome. Researchers will investigate possible genetic, immunologic, and physiologic causes of the "post-polio syndrome". The study itself will not provide therapy for patients with the condition, but may lead to the development of therapies in the future.

Post-Poliomyelitis Syndrome (PPS) is the term describing the new problems affecting polio survivors many years after recovery from paralytic polio. Among the symptoms, fatigue is one of the most frequent and debilitating. In addition to physical incapacitation, the fatigue of PPS also affects mental function. The term "brain fatigue" is usually used by patients to express problems on the areas of attention, concentration, memory and clear thinking. Unfortunately, little is known about cognitive fatigue of PPS patients. This study is meant to examine if mental impairment is present in PPS patients and, if so, how it interferes on the self-function of patients. Patients will undergo an interview, clinical and neurological evaluation, and a battery of screening laboratory tests to make sure they are eligible for the study. Patients who qualify will undergo neuropsychometric tests in order to assay performance in the main areas of cognitive functioning. Through this organized approach we expect to be able to determine if mental fatigue is a significant problem affecting polio survivors, what areas are most affected, and how it may interfere with daily living.

This is a longitudinal, observational study with the aims of comparing spinal cord gray matter areas in patients with Post-Polio Syndrome to age and sex matched healthy control subjects and to correlate atrophy with metrics of clinical disability.