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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffPost-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that some people who had polio at a young age may experience years later.
Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in America, responsible for paralysis and death. Shortly after polio reached its peak in the early 1950s, the inactivated polio vaccine was introduced and greatly reduced polio's spread. Today, few people in developed countries get paralytic polio, thanks to the polio vaccine.
But some people who had polio at a young age may experience certain late effects of the disease many years later — post-polio syndrome. The exact cause of post-polio syndrome is unknown.
Treatment focuses on managing the signs and symptoms of post-polio syndrome and improving your quality of life.
- Shefner JM, et al. Post-polio syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Polio disease - questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/polio/dis-faqs.htm. Accessed Jan. 16, 2009.
- Post-polio syndrome fact sheet, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/post_polio/detail_post_polio.htm. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Howard RS. Poliomyelitis and the postpolio syndrome. British Medical Journal. 2005;330:1314.
