United Spinal's Action Online Magazine » Polio/Post-polio

A Trial in India

Ziggi — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:18:39 +0000

| Polio Tips and Techniques

by Dr. Richard L. Bruno

A “maiden attempt” has been made by surgeons in India to implant stem cells into the spinal cords of a “handful” of children who had paralytic polio. Doctors report “encouraging” results as “one of the polio patients…is now able to move her limbs.” This experiment, which uses stem cells harvested from the children’s own bone marrow to prevent rejection, began three months ago and only has been tried on a handful of patients.

“This is just the beginning,” said surgeon D.K. Gupta. “This trial will be carried out for the next three [...]

Taking Pains after Surgery

Ziggi — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:53:16 +0000

| POLIO TIPS ‘N’ TECHNIQUES

by Dr. Richard L. Bruno

Polio survivors’ most troublesome problem after surgery is pain control. Studies have shown that surgical patients are often under medicated for pain.

Under medication is a serious problem for a postpolio patient since two studies have shown that polio survivors are twice as sensitive to pain as those who didn’t have polio, increased pain sensitivity apparently being caused by poliovirus killing the body’s own morphine-producing cells.

So, while for Anesthesia the “Rule of 2” is that polio survivors need the usual dose of anesthetic divided by two, the “Rule of 2” for Pain is just [...]

Polio and the Science of Inducing Sleep

Ziggi — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:55:40 +0000

| TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR POLIO SURVIVORS

By Dr. Richard L. Bruno

I’ve talked here recently about drugs that make polio survivors sleepy. But, I haven’t discussed medications that are intended to put polio survivors to sleep.

In our 2000 Post-Polio Survey, 237 polio survivors told us about complications after receiving anesthesia. Polio survivors’ biggest problem reported was being excessively sedated after being “put under.” Just over half told us that they were snowed after receiving a general anesthetic and 43% said that they were overly sedated when they had an endoscopy or colonoscopy, sometimes with frightening results: “It took two days to awaken [...]

The Part that Kept Me from Screaming

Ziggi — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:45:33 +0000

| THE OBSERVATORY

By Gary Presley

“Why is it not God’s will that I am in this wheelchair?”

As a person assigned by fate to butt-surf through life, I found that a perfect question, especially when someone violates the social commandant, “Thou shalt not discuss sex, politics, or religion. Or disability.”

Once I got a job, a few years into my adventure on wheels, I was bored with the Why? question anyway. I had repeatedly asked it of God Himself. And slicked-hair television evangelists. And my parents. And the dogs. Only the dogs understood the question, but I never received an answer I could live with. [...]

Treating Tremors

Ziggi — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:52:15 +0000

| POLIO TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

by Dr. Richard L. Bruno

Last column, we talked about types of tremor, essential tremor being one, which is often treated with beta-blockers. Beta-blockers have been a first-line drug to treat high blood pressure. The problem for polio survivors is that the side effect of beta-blockers—and of most antihypertension drugs –is fatigue, something polio survivors don’t need more of. So, here are some suggestions to take to your doctor about drugs to lower your blood pressure that, hopefully, will not also put you to sleep:

The first drug prescribed to treat hypertension used to be a diuretic, [...]

Polio’s Kissing Cousin

Ziggi — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:42:12 +0000

| POLIO TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

by Dr. Richard L. Bruno

If you’ve read our research, you know we’ve found evidence that a shortage of dopamine in neurons that activate the brain is related to polio survivors’ fatigue. Dopamine is the brain-activating neurochemical, but it also turns on the neurons that turn your muscles off when they’re not in use. Without enough dopamine, muscles turn on when they should be off, creating the rigidity and tremor of Parkinson’s disease.

So, why don’t all polio survivors have Parkinson’s? Horace Magoun, the researcher who discovered the brain-activating system, asked this question in 1948. Magoun concluded [...]