Researcher To Speak On Post-Polio Syndrome

SOUTHBURY — Researcher, writer, and speaker Edward Bollenbach will present a program about his scientific research into the poliovirus on Saturday, June 5, from 2 to 4 pm, at the Booker Lecture Hall at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford.

Mr Bollenbach, a professor emeritus and polio survivor, will discuss “Do Old Polio Viral Fragments Contribute to Post-Polio Syndrome?” The subject matter will focus on what is known about the microscopic changes to nerves and muscles in people who have post-polio syndrome.

Professor Bollenbach collaborated with Marcia Falconer, PhD, in surveying 415 polio survivors. The results of the survey shed light about the causes of those microscopic changes.

This topic is of particular relevance as 2004 is the 50th anniversary of the Jonas Salk vaccine field trials. After the raging polio epidemics left many young people paralyzed or dead, a massive campaign funded by the March of Dimes established the largest voluntary clinical trial ever undertaken.

One year later the Salk vaccine was declared “safe, potent, and effective.” Within only a few years polio rates in the United States dropped dramatically. Polio has since been nearly eliminated from the Western Hemisphere and the World Health Organization (WHO) hopes it will be eliminated from the world by 2005 with the help of Rotary International.

Many polio survivors made a strong recovery from the childhood disease but now, several decades later, are experiences new weakness, increasing fatigue, pain, and lack of endurance, a debilitating condition known as post-polio syndrome. The WHO estimates that there are between 12 and 20 million individuals who had polio living in the world today.  No prevent or cure has been found.

The June lecture is free and open to the public but advance registration is required. To register notify The Polio Outreach of Connecticut (TPOC) by phone at 203-847-5902 or by email at MATIGWU@aol.com.

The Polio Outreach of Connecticut is a nonprofit entity that exists to provide support, education, information, and camaraderie for polio survivors. Friends, family members, significant others and caregivers are welcome at TPOC meetings.

 The group has scheduled meetings for July 24, September 18, and December 11 in Southbury. For more information about these meetings, or to request a free packet of printed materials on post-polio syndrome, contact the organization’s president, Linda Wheeler Donahue, by email at PolioOutreach@aol.com or by mail at The Polio Outreach of Connecticut, 75 Tallwood Road, Southbury CT 06488.