Apr 12, 2012

1955 Polio Vaccine Trial Announcement

"Safe, effective, and potent." 

With these words on April 12, 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis Jr., director of the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, announced to the world that the Salk polio vaccine was up to 90% effective in preventing paralytic polio. 

Dr. Francis made the announcement to a crowd of scientists and reporters at the University of Michigan's Rackham Auditorium, concluding his two-year national field trials of the poliomyelitis vaccine developed by his former student, Jonas Salk. Francis was chair of the School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology where Salk did postgraduate training.

Over 1,800,000 children participated in the field trials, which were unprecedented in magnitude. 

Apr 3, 2012

Die Mitglieder der Polio-Initiative Europa trafen sich zur Versammlung in Göppingen.

Maske für Lebensqualität.

Göppingen.  Die Mitglieder der Polio-Initiative Europa trafen sich zur Versammlung in Göppingen. Bei einem Vortrag wurde der Umgang mit der Atemmaske veranschaulicht.

Lesen sie weiter www.swp.de

There is insufficient evidence to support or refute use of IVIg in the routine treatment of postpolio syndrome.

New AAN Guideline on IVIg in Neuromuscular Disorders.


March 26, 2012 — The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has published an evidence-based guideline on the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders.

Developed by the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the AAN, the document, along with a 2-page summary for clinicians, is published in the March 27 issue of Neurology.

"Treatment with IVIg has increased and neurologists, and other clinicians who treat neuromuscular disease, should be aware of the data supporting its use," guideline lead author Huned S. Patwa, MD, from Yale University and the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, New Haven, told Medscape Medical News.

Continue reading www.medscape.com

CAT comes to the aid of polio-hit officer.


CHENNAI: The TN bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has come to the rescue of an officer working in the Ordnance Factory in Avadi, by quashing an order transferring him to Uttar Pradesh.

S Manivannan, joint general manager of the Ordnance Factory, here moved the CAT to quash an order dated june 23, 2010 of the Ordnance Factory Board in Kolkata transferring him to Ghaziabad in UP.

Petitioner submitted that he was 80 per cent affected by ‘post polio residual paralysis’ of both the lower limbs. His seven-year-old daughter also had serious speech and language delays. 

The doctor had diagnosed that she was suffering from an ‘autism spectrum disorder’ and recommended that she attend special education and speech therapy that would target specific deficits in learning language, attention, compliance and initiative of interaction as early intervention programme. The speech therapy was only in Tamil. 

Continue reading ibnlive.in.com

Incontro sulla Poliomelite a Costamasnaga - Lecco

Vi segnaliamo che il giorno 21 aprile presso il Centro Riabilitativo "Villa Beretta" a Costamasnaga (Lecco) si terrà un seminario su: "Indagine virologica nei pazienti con la sindrome post-polio. E' possibile la ricomparsa della poliomielite?". 
 
Continua a leggere leccoprovincia.it

Writer Nathan Chroman, passed away at his home in the suburb of Westwood of post-polio syndrome, his family said.

Writer Nathan Chroman Dies at 83. Lawyer and wine columnist was an influential voice for the nascent California wine industry.

Nathan Chroman, a Beverly Hills attorney and wine aficionado who wrote an influential weekly column for the Los Angeles Times from 1971 to 1987, died March 16. Chroman, who contracted polio when he was 18, passed away at his home in the suburb of Westwood of post-polio syndrome, his family said. He was 83.

As a freelance wine writer, Chroman chronicled California wine at a time when it grew to national and then international prominence. He shared the wine beat at the Times with Robert Lawrence Balzer, who died last year. The two men gave the Times powerful voices for wine.

Continue reading www.winespectator.com

Sindrome post-polio: Codurelli (PD), iniziato iter proposta di legge per riconoscimento invalidita.

(AGENPARL) - Roma, 28 mar-  “Ieri in commissione Affari Sociali è iniziato l’iter del progetto di legge n. 3367 di cui sono prima firmataria volto a riconoscere la sindrome post polio (PPS) come malattia cronica e invalidante.
Relatore l'On. Burtone. Nonostante la poliomielite, grazie al vaccino sia stata debellata da tempo vi è ancora un numero elevato di persone, stimato in oltre settantamila, sopravvissute alla poliomelite, che ne hanno subito e ne patiscono tuttora gli esiti.

Sono i cosiddetti «effetti tardivi della polio», ai quali non si riesce e trovare una giusta risposta sanitaria ed istituzionale, essendo stati dismessi da tempo i diversi centri di ricerca, di recupero e riabilitazione. Pertanto, oltre al riconoscimento specifico della malattia, occorre individuare sul territorio strutture sanitarie per la diagnosi e la cura di riabilitazione e centri di ricerca per lo studio di tale patologia.

Ora mi auguro, che l’iter sia rapido e con la piena condivisione di tutte le parti politiche si riesca, entro la fine di questa legislatura, la proposta diventi legge”.

Mercy Yrabedra, 61, died Wednesday of complications from post-polio.

Yrabedra will be long remembered for her passion to help special kids in Clarksville.

 

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Mercy Yrabedra was known in the Clarksville community for her diligent work in helping children – especially special needs children – reach their full potential.

Yrabedra, 61, died Wednesday of complications from post-polio.

Her drive and passion for helping children to overcome hardships and believe in themselves left a lasting impression on the hearts of anyone who had the privilege of knowing or working with her.

Continue reading www.theleafchronicle.com

Harry Crews dead at 76. The cause of death was a combination of post-polio syndrome, which has caused a series of infections, and neuropathy.

Harry Crews deat at 76. Acclaimed Southern author taught at UF.

Harry Crews, the son of a South Georgia tenant farmer who drew upon his dirt-poor origins to write highly acclaimed novels and in the process spearheaded a new literary genre, died Wednesday in Gainesville. He was 76.

According to Sally Crews, Harry's ex-wife, who has managed his affairs in recent years, the cause of death was a combination of post-polio syndrome, which has caused a series of infections, and neuropathy.

Continue reading  www.ocala.com

Mar 25, 2012

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends polio boosters for travelers to 44 countries.

CDC recommends polio boosters for travelers to 44 countries.
 
Polio is a devastating disease that can cause paralysis and death; fortunately, it is preventable through immunization.

For US travelers to endemic countries or countries at risk for reestablishment or importation of the poliovirus, ensuring your polio vaccination is up to date is imperative.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice Thursday recommending polio boosters to travelers to 44 countries that fall into one of the categories above.

Continue reading www.examiner.com

UN Agencies and Allies to Kick-off Polio Eradication Drive.

22/03/2012 – UNICEF, the WHO and its health partners in 20 African countries will work to immunize more than 100 million children over four consecutive days, starting tomorrow.
 
International health workers and policy-makers will launch a new campaign to avert the spread of polio across West and Central Africa. About 111 million children in 20 countries are being targeted for polio immunization by government ministries, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a very infectious viral disease that overwhelmingly affects children under the age of five. Transmitted via contaminated water and food, polio attacks the nervous system once inside the body. In a small number of cases, the disease can cause total paralysis and death in just a matter of hours.

The campaign will begin operations tomorrow, when tens of thousands of volunteers will go door-to-door to vaccinate children against polio over the course of four days.

Continue reading  www.soschildrensvillages.ca

Gambia: Kick Polio Out

The Gambia's Health of Ministry in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Emergency Children's Funds UNICEF) and other key stakeholders will today, Friday 23rd March, 2012 commence nationwide Polio Immunization Campaign targeting children from 0-5 years. The principal aim and objectives of this intervention are to kick out polio of the country which hitherto inflicted untold health complications on the populace, particularly the younger population. It's an indisputable fact that a lot of people have become maimed or disabled by this dreadful disease thanks to little or no knowledge about its genesis.

Continue reading allafrica.com

Mar 23, 2012

The Polio Police Keep At It.

March 23, 2012: One important tool for peacekeepers is medical care. Pakistan, which has never had full control (as in local government, police and such) in many of the tribal areas along the Afghan border, provides a form of peacekeeping operation there. Troops and paramilitary forces are brought in to try and keep the peace as needed, as well as to protect a few services, especially medical care. The medical teams are very active in trying to control communicable diseases. Most notably, these teams took part in the effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s, and are now trying to eliminate polio. Unlike smallpox, the growth of Islamic radicalism and paranoia has made it much more difficult to wipe out polio.

Continue reading  www.strategypage.com

Year's first case of vaccine-derived polio reported in Bengal.

NEW DELHI: India has reported its first case of vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV) infection of 2012. A five-month-old child from the Murshidabad district of West Bengal has got infected with the virus after taking the oral polio vaccine.

This, however, does not threaten India's recently awarded polio free status because though detecting VDPV is part of the surveillance system, it does not get added when putting together a country's polio numbers.

Ona Essangui que tuvo polio en su niñez, ganador del 'Nobel verde'.

Ona Essangui que tuvo polio en su niñez, ganador del 'Nobel verde', lucha por la selva de Gabón. El activista gabonés, galardonado con el principal premio ambientalista, busca mostrar que África puede defender sus tesoros naturales.
Continue reading mexico.cnn.com

Mar 21, 2012

Polio virus in Pakistan: WHO warns of travel ban.

ISLAMABAD, March 20: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Pakistan that if the polio virus was not contained, it could face serious consequences such as travel and visa restrictions and sanctions imposed by countries across the world.
 
Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General of Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration, WHO, told Dawn after a press conference organised by country office of WHO that lately the global community had been expressing its anxiety over the widespread prevalence of the virus in Pakistan.

“Why would countries that have invested millions of dollars for the eradication of polio tolerate any possibility of the virus traveling from Pakistan to their country,” the key global official of the WHO rationalised, and elaborated: “Some countries in their individual capacities want to impose travel restrictions that are not in the benefit of Pakistan and must be avoided. It must be clarified that WHO is not a party to any of those plans.”

Continue reading  www.dawn.com

Mar 20, 2012

The 24-year-old woman, who lives in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1992, two years after she was diagnosed with poliomyelitis.

BEIJING - The constant smile on Xia Lin's face often leads people to forget that she has been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years.

The 24-year-old woman, who lives in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1992, two years after she was diagnosed with poliomyelitis. Her father died when she was seven, and she now lives with her mentally-disabled mother.

However, Xia found a silver lining in 2010 when the local Communist Party of China (CPC) branch in the subdistrict of Zheshan launched a volunteer program to help people in need.

Today, nearly 1,000 CPC members serve in more than 20 One Meter of Sunshine (OMS) volunteer teams in Zheshan, and they provide a range of services, including help with household duties, psychological consultation, medical care and legal advice.

Meanwhile, the CPC's Wuhu municipal committee has expanded the program throughout the city of 3.8 million people.

Continue reading  www.chinadaily.com.cn

Nigeria: Polio Eradication - Is Country Willing?.

Yes, Nigeria is willing, at least according to President Goodluck Jonathan, "My commitment to the people of the country is that, between now and 2015, when my term of office is expected to end, we will work day and night to make sure that we eradicate polio. For that reason, we have also increased the amount of money we bring into polio eradication from $17 Million to $30 million and we have challenges, we will look for more money". That may be true, but is Nigeria serious?

Continue reading  allafrica.com

Mar 18, 2012

ACCERTAMENTI INVALIDITA' IRREVERSIBILI

DISABILI: CODURELLI (PD) – PROCEDURE PER ACCERTAMENTO INVALIDITA’ - BASTA DISAGI E UMILIAZIONI  PER SOGGETTI CON PATOLOGIE GRAVI  (Caso Angelo Gandolfi)

 “ Pur essendo un argomento attenzionato dal Parlamento da diverso tempo, le procedure per l'accertamento delle invalidità civili nei confronti di persone affette da patologie gravi o irreversibili, continuano ad essere discriminanti.

Il problema persiste infatti in tutta la sua drammaticità, dal momento che anche ai soggetti portatori di menomazioni irreversibili o di patologie escluse da visite di controllo sulla permanenza dello stato invalidante, continuano ad essere ugualmente richiesti ulteriori controlli, con tutti i disagi e umiliazioni che ne conseguono.

Ad oggi non è stato fatto nulla affinché a queste persone venissero risparmiati questi enormi disagi.  Il sottosegretario Guerra, nel rispondere alla mia interrogazione su un problema sollevato già nel mese di luglio scorso, non ha potuto fare altro che descrivere lo stato dell’arte, che ben conoscevamo, una brutta eredità lasciata dal precedente Governo.

Il caso del sig. Gandolfi ha infatti trovato una soluzione già dal novembre scorso in quanto, dopo la presentazione del mio atto parlamentare c’è stata un intervento dal Ministero della Salute. Tutto ciò non ha impedito il reiterarsi  del problema come nel caso della Sig. Anna Lissi, presidente dell'Associazione PostPolio di Lecco, finita addirittura sulla stampa nazionale.

Prendo atto della volontà del Governo di trovare una soluzione. Ne è un esempio la convocazione del tavolo di confronto coni vari soggetti interessati (inps, asl, regioni) proprio a partire da ieri sera, però la risposta avuta non mi soddisfa. Ho ribadito pertanto che la semplificazione tanto richiamata deve essere finalizzata al miglioramento del servizio per i cittadini coinvolti, ciè i più deboli, mentre sino ad ora si è aumentato il disagio in nome dei "falsi invaldi" e non è stato dato seguito al contrenuto di  ben cinque mozioni già approvate dalla Camera. Mi aspetto che  altre persone, con grave disabilità, non siano costrette a subire il medesimo trattamento ricevuto del signor Angelo Gandolfi e dalla Sig.ra Anna Lissi  e tanti, tanti altri disabili 

continua a leggere  leccoprovincia.it 

小兒麻痺患者如何鍛鍊腳力?

小兒麻痺患者如何鍛鍊腳力?

【將諮詢的問題】

請問康健:今年49歲,為小兒麻痺患者,醫生診斷為中度肢障(右腳),小時後因某些原因未做矯正手術穿鐵鞋,現在隨著年齡日增,感覺漸漸使不上力,有時走個三百公尺即舉步維艱,走遠路甚至需拐杖輔助,請問: 1.是否隨年齡日增有嚴重的趨勢? 2.如何保養? 3.適合何種運動有助鍛鍊腳力(游泳除外)。

骨科復健: 劉建廷 醫師

解答: 您好,您的困擾可能是由「小兒麻痺後症候群」(post polio syndrome 或 post poliomyelitis syndrome)所造成。
小兒麻痺病毒是腸病毒的一種,會損害脊髓前角的運動神經細胞導致患者肌肉麻痺、萎縮與行動不便,在發病的急性期過後有些麻痺的肌肉會重新獲得運動功能,這種恢復主要是因為鄰近未損壞的神經細胞長出新芽再連接原先失去神經支配的肌肉纖維。
因為這些神經細胞與肌肉纖維的工作量比患病之前增加很多,很容易過度使用並提早老化,臨床表現是患者在病情穩定很多年之後,再度出現疲勞、肌肉無力、肌肉 萎縮、肌肉疼痛、關節疼痛與畏寒的症狀,這些症狀會隨著年齡增加而越來越明顯,並且影響日常生活功能,稱之為「小兒麻痺後症候群」。
建議您至醫院復健科諮詢先確定診斷並排除其他可能原因。
如果您的症狀的確是由上述症候群所引起,由於能夠替補的肌肉和神經細胞已經不多,要把肌肉力量做最有效率的運用,因此不適合再積極鍛鍊腳力。
日常生活應該節約體力避免不必要的活動(例如長時間走路、爬山或過度上下樓梯)、增加休息時間、必要時使用輔助器具(如手杖、助行器、電動代步車等) 減輕疲勞;如果有肌肉或關節疼痛症狀,首先要聽從身體的警告避免導致疼痛的活動,並且在醫師指示下接受藥物或物理治療。
例行有氧運動對心肺功能有益,但要在不會導致症狀惡化的前提之下進行有其困難度,最好能經過復健科醫師或物理治療師評估之後再依個別狀況安排適當的運動; 伸展運動可增加肌肉關節柔度並減輕疲勞與疼痛,值得推荐;另外,戒煙、戒酒、注意營養與避免體重過重也很重要,以上建議供您參考。
(解答者:台北慈濟醫院復健科劉建廷醫生)


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