50 years after the Salk vaccine, the effects of polio still linger

(I-Newswire) April 13, 2005 - ANN ARBOR, MI - Fifty years after the University of Michigan's Thomas Francis Jr., M.D., announced a "safe, effective, and potent "vaccine that would end one of the most virulent of childhood diseases, the effects of paralytic polio still linger.

With an estimated 300,000 polio survivors in the United States , efforts today at the U-M Health System's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation remain focused on this debilitating and once deadly disease.

The UMHS Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has one of only three clinics in the state focused on treating post-polio patients. Its dedicated team of physicians, orthotists, prosthetists and researchers are not only treating patients and studying polio's life-long effects to improve treatment measures, they're also educating future orthotics and prosthetics health care providers.

The Post-Polio Clinic
Ten to 40 years after the initial onset of polio symptoms, survivors often begin to suffer from the fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain, and muscular atrophy caused by post-polio syndrome, or PPS.

The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation's Post-Polio Clinic is specially designed to treat patients with the complex set of issues that make up PPS and other conditions that are common among people who had polio in the past.

Many post-polio survivors struggle with the disability, pain and even limb deformity for years before coming to the Post-Polio Clinic for treatment, says Mark Taylor, a certified prosthetist/orthotist with the Post Polio Clinic, and director of clinical and technical services at the U-M Orthotics and Prosthetics Center.

"Post-polio presents challenges at work and in everyday life," says Taylor, a polio survivor who contracted the disease when he was 9 months old. "Polio patients strive to be normal, and at the clinic we work with them to create a treatment plan, which may include braces or surgical intervention, to help them maintain their independence and mobility."

To maximize mobility and minimize stress on weight-bearing joints, Taylor fits many of the clinic's patients with custom leg braces and other orthotics, created by a team of experts at the U-M Orthotics and Prosthetics Center using light-weight materials and the latest technology.

The referral-based clinic provides an often forgotten population with the support, treatment and education they need to stay active and healthy. So it's no surprise that patients come to the clinic from all over the Midwest , and as far away as Oklahoma, says Ann Laidlaw, M.D., director of the Post-Polio Clinic.

"The popularity of the clinic is based in large part on the fact that few clinics deal specifically with PPS or other polio-related problems," says Laidlaw, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the U-M Health System. "We're able to educate patients about post-polio syndrome. Patients are grateful that we are here for them, and that we understand what they're going through."

As a part of a nationally and internationally renowned health system, Laidlaw and Taylor treat young patients from third world countries, including India , where polio has yet to be eradicated.

Research: Learning more about PPS
Patients seen at the Post-Polio Clinic also have the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking research taking place in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Claire Kalpakjian, Ph.D., along with other experts in the department, has conducted a series of studies to take a closer look at polio's lifelong effects.

A recent nation-wide study led by Kalpakjian was the first of its kind to examine the impact of menopause on women who are polio survivors, as well as the differences between men and women with PPS. The study found that women with late effects of polio experience menopause differently than their non-disabled peers – physiologically, physically and psychologically.

For the study, Kalpakjian, along with Denise G. Tate, Ph.D., head the UMHS Model Spinal Cord Injury Care System in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Elisabeth H. Quint, M.D., co-investigator, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , studied almost 1,000 post-polio women, aged 34 to 99 from 49 states during 2003.

Now, Kalpakjian will draw from that information for a collaborative study with Michigan State University that will focus on self-esteem and sexuality in post-polio women.

"Studying women with disabilities in general is so important because they have long been neglected in rehabilitation research," says Kalpakjian. "But as we learn and understand more about how men and women polio survivors differ as they age, we'll be able to help identify the best treatment and health management approaches for both groups."

Training tomorrow's health care providers today
To ensure the future health care needs of post-polio patients are met, Eastern Michigan University and the U-M Orthotics and Prosthetics Center recently teamed to help address the international shortage of certified practitioners.

The collaborative program offers students courses in orthotics and prosthetics taught by U-M's American Board of Certification orthotists and prosthetists.

As part of the program, students gain hands-on experience with computer-aided design and manufacturing, plastics, foundry and metal forming, machining and pattern making, and metrology.

"This joint venture really gives students a well-rounded education in orthotics and prosthetics," says Taylor, who teaches some of the courses. "In addition to learning the technical aspects, we're also teaching them the clinical skills they need to assess patients with polio and create a successful plan for their treatment."

To learn more about the UMHS Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation post-polio efforts and other services for patients with disabilities and injuries, visit www.med.umich.edu/pmr/.

Related links:

New study reports post-polio women experience menopause differently than non-disabled peers
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/polio.htm

Polio a thing of the past? Not if you suffer from its late effects
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2003/postpolio.htm

U-M study takes a closer look at polio's lifelong effects
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2003/polio.htm


Written by Krista Hopson

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