Post-polio syndrome--polio's legacy.

One of the first descriptions of late-onset muscle weakness following poliomyelitis was made in 1875 by Raymond, who presented a 19-year-old man to Charcot. The patient had residual paresis of his left arm and leg from infantile paralysis at the age of 6 months. He was performing heavy labour as a tanner and complained that his right arm had increasingly felt heavier and more rapidly fatigued during the last 2 years. During the previous three months, the same symptoms had developed in his right thigh. His right arm weakened, especially around the shoulder, there was moderate thenar wasting, and fibrillations were seen in many shoulder muscles. Sensation was unaffected. His right thigh also showed weakness and fasciculations to a moderate degree…Charcot suggested that this could be related to the patient’s infantile paralysis.