post-polio syndrome. A case report

Certain acute anterior poliomyelitis survivors express complaints of abnormal fatigue, weakness and muscular atrophy many years after acute onset. These are basic clinical symptoms of so-called post-polio syndrome (PPS).
PPS is characterized by a relatively slow, but progressive pathological muscular process, in some cases leading to functional impairment of daily living and professional activity.
Breathing, speaking and swallowing impairment are common but not severe medical problems of post-polio patients. Diagnosis is usually based on a typical medical history, electromyographic investigation and exclusion of other diseases presenting similar features.
We report a case of PPS in a 49-year-old woman diagnosed in the Neurological Department in Zabrze.
Thirty six years after acute anterior poliomyelitis with partial recovery, new symptoms of fatigue, muscular atrophy, exertional dyspnea, walking impairment and joint pain developed.
Electromyography revealed features of coexisting spinal denervation and reinnervation in tested muscles. The differential diagnosis excluded other neuromuscular diseases.
The patient fulfilled clinical and electromyographic criteria of PPS.