PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND DIAGNOSIS OF POSTPOLIO SYNDROME

Post-poliomyelitis syndrome is defined as a clinical syndrome of new w eakness, fatigue and pain which can occur several decades following re covery from paralytic poliomyelitis. The cause of this disorder is sti ll unclear, and many possible etiologies have been proposed. The most widely accepted etiology was first proposed by Wiechers and Hubbell, w hich attributes PPS to a distal degeneration of massively enlarged pos t-polio motor units. Other probable contributing factors to the onset of this disease are the ageing process, and overuse. Currently, there is no specific diagnostic test for PPS, which continues to be a diagno sis of exclusion in an individual with symptoms and signs of the disor der. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.