The Association Between Antibodies Against Poliomyelitis and Muscle Weakness in a Normal Population

Abstract

A total of almost 450 persons was studied in three communities in an attempt to establish a relationship between subclinical poliomyelitis infection and muscle weaknesses. Each person in the study was examined for muscle weaknesses by a physical therapist, and determinations for neutralizing antibodies in each person were made with each of the three recognized types of poliovirus. It is shown that the presence of antibodies against poliomyelitis was associated with the presence of mild muscle weakness in two middle class communities, but not in a third community of lower socio-economic status. The association in the first two communities is interpreted as confirmation of the clinical impression that inapparent poliomyelitis infections can cause detectable residual muscle weaknesses. Muscle weaknesses were present in almost all of the children examined in the third community, but were not associated with the presence of antibodies against poliomyelitis. It is conjectured that this high prevalence of muscle weaknesses might be due to deficient nutrition. In order to investigate the reliability of the muscle evaluation technique, 29 children were independently examined by each of two physical therapists with experience in using the technique. The results confirm the results of Lilienfeld et al. in showing that the technique is relatively reliable.