Post Polio Syndrome
Dr. Richard Bruno
In today’s modern world with technical and medical advancement moving faster than the speed of light, I am surprised and saddened that many medical professionals know little about one of the 20th century’s deadliest childhood diseases, polio. The general population, under the age of 45 does not have a clue about how devastating or hideous this disease can be. In fact, most people are totally in the dark about polio and are unaware that in some parts of the world wild poliovirus still exists and can be spread. For the first time in the history of mankind we are truly global. Within a day or two you can be on the other side of the world. The only known defense against this monstrous disease is the vaccine. Despite the huge push to eradicate the disease worldwide through vaccination, disappointingly cases of polio still occur.
The lack of knowledge regarding the late effects of polio on all of those who survived the initial attack is even more disheartening. Polio survivors worldwide are struggling to manage post polio syndrome virtually on their own. The good news is that we all have the expertise of Dr. Richard Bruno.
Dr. Richard Bruno is a crusader and has paved the way for PPS research for four decades. Richard Bruno is internationally known as the world’s foremost expert on Post-Polio Sequelae (PPS, also known as “post-polio syndrome”), the unexpected and often disabling symptoms — overwhelming fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders, heightened sensitivity to anesthesia, cold intolerance, and difficulty swallowing and breathing — that occur in 75% of paralytic and 40% of non-paralytic polio survivors about 35 years after the poliovirus attack. Bruno, a research and clinical psychophysiologist trained at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, began studying PPS and treating polio survivors in 1982, when he was a fellow in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1984, Bruno organized and is chairperson of the International Post-Polio Task Force, which promotes PPS research, education and treatment in 25 countries. Bruno left Columbia and, in 1989, created and directed the Post-Polio Rehabilitation and Research Service at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, the first center for the study and comprehensive treatment of PPS , and in 1998 created The Post-Polio Institute at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (5), which was closed in 2010. Bruno is now director of the International Centre for Polio Education, the new home of the International Post-Polio Task Force.
Dr. Bruno visited with Never Say Impossible Radio and Dancing On Our Disabilities a few months ago. His interviews were so informative, I am reposting them for the benefit of anyone who missed them the first time.
Click the links below to listen: Non-Flash MP3 Direct Link-First interview- Replay
Non-Flash MP3 Direct Link – Dr. Bruno answers your questions.-Replay
