Causes of Post-Polio Syndrome
There are several theories and thoughts as to what causes post-polio syndrome, but the exact cause is still unknown.
When poliovirus infects your body, it affects your nerve cells known as motor neurons that messages in the form of electrical impulses between your brain and your muscles. Poliovirus is known to particularly affect the motor neurons in the spinal cord.
There are three basic components that make up each motor neuron:
- A cell body
- A major branching fiber (axon)
- Numerous smaller branching fibers (dendrites)
Nerve cell (neuron)
The nerve cell (neuron) is the fundamental building block of communication in the neurological system. The main branching fiber (axon) and countless smaller branching fibers (dendrites) make up the cell body of each nerve cell, which also contains the cell’s nucleus. The brain and spinal cord’s nerves are covered, insulated, and safeguarded by a fatty substance called the myelin sheath.
A polio infection frequently damages or kills a lot of these motor neurons. Less motor neurons are present, therefore the ones that exist grow larger and sprout new fibers.
This allows your muscles to recover faster, but it also may stress the nerve cell body to nourish the additional fibers. Studies have shown that the induced stress may be too much, leading to the gradual breakdown of the sprouted fibers and, eventually, of the neuron itself.