Polio virus
My husband developed polio as a boy in 1948 but, thankfully, made a full recovery. He is 57 now and still an active sportsman. However, recently, he has begun to tire more easily. He also suffers from cold/flu/sore throat-type symptoms which never seem to develop further, and also from depression. I know there is a possible link between ME and Polio and wondered if Co-Enzyme Q10 might help?
Dr Julian Jessel-Kenyon, a former surgeon now based with The Centre for the Study of Complementary Medicine has a reputation for dealing with the most difficult cases of chronic illness. He says both polio and many chronic fatigue syndromes, including ME, are caused by the same kind of virus. The main difference, of course, is that the polio version attacks the peripheral nervous system to cause paralysis.
With chronic fatigue syndromes, the viruses are grouped around the brain stem - where they can produce a wide range of abnormalities, including a total lack of physical and mental energy, sleep disturbances and hormonal imbalances. In the 1950s, researchers identified a polio syndrome which did not include paralysis but which caused what we now call chronic fatigue.
Dr Jessel-Kenyon, who specialises in homeopathy and auricular acupuncture, says of the many cases of chronic fatigue he has treated, a small number have been post-polio chronic fatigues and this may well be what your husband has.
They are, he warns, the longest-acting of all the chronic fatigue syndromes (he has one patient who has been in this state for 40 years). What usually happens is that the immune system becomes compromised to allow the dormant polio virus to re-establish itself. If this is the case with your spouse, then Co-Enzyme Q10 is too vague an approach. Instead, your husband needs to see a complementary doctor with extensive experience of the chronic fatigues who can help boost his immunity to resist this virus again.
*The Centre for the Study of Complementary Medicine has clinics in both Southampton (01703-334752) and Harley Street (0171-935 7848).