Acute Flaccid Myelitis News and Research

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NIH contract awarded to UAB for acute flaccid myelitis natural history study

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded the University of Alabama at Birmingham approximately $10 million over 5 years to study acute flaccid myelitis, a rare but serious condition which causes muscle weakness and paralysis.

23 Jul 2019

Puzzling paralysis affecting healthy children warns CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that a series of rare and difficult to treat cases of paralysis are being seen in otherwise healthy children since 2018. This outbreak is 2018 may soon make a comeback in 2020 the organization warns doctors and paediatricians. The report was published in the CDC’s Vital Signs this week.

11 Jul 2019

TGen identifies polio-like virus as potential cause of Acute Flaccid Myelitis outbreak

The Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, has identified a polio-like virus as a potential cause of an outbreak of a disease known as Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), a crippling condition that causes muscle weakness and paralysis usually among children.

23 Jan 2019

Nerve transfer surgery restores arm movement in children with acute flaccid myelitis

An innovative and complex surgery involving nerve transfers is restoring hope and transforming lives torn apart by a mysterious and devastating illness. Acute flaccid myelitis, also known as AFM, strikes without warning, shows no mercy and frequently results in paralysis.

15 Jan 2019

Clearer diagnosis of polio-like illness in young children

Johns Hopkins researchers have analyzed patient data from 45 cases of what they thought was acute flaccid myelitis, the polio-like outbreak occurring in U.S. children, and realized that only 75 percent of diagnosed cases were AFM.

4 Dec 2018

Potential treatment for rare polio-like illness shows no signal of efficacy

Researchers have been searching for possible treatments for the polio-like illness causing paralysis in children, called acute flaccid myelitis.

9 Nov 2018

Cases of acute flaccid myelitis on the rise say federal health officials

The cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – a polio like debilitating illness affecting children is still on the rise announced the health officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this Monday (5th November 2018).

5 Nov 2018

Cases of Acute Flaccid Myelitis on the rise across U.S.

According to the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), cases of dangerous and rare Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) are being noted across United States. This disease manifests similar to acute flaccid paralysis caused by polio virus say the experts. There is at present no treatment for this condition that primarily affects children and leads to paralysis of the limbs.

18 Oct 2018

Mysterious polio-like illness baffles medical experts while frightening parents

A spike in the number of children with a rare neurological disease that causes polio-like symptoms has health officials across the country scrambling to understand the illness. Yet, more than four years after health officials first recorded the most recent uptick in cases, much about the national outbreak remains a mystery.

17 Oct 2018

UT Southwestern scientists identify gene mutation linked with perplexing brain condition

Scientists conducting one of the largest full DNA analyses of a rare disease have identified a gene mutation associated with a perplexing brain condition that blinds and paralyzes patients.

20 Jun 2018

Researchers identify virus as likely cause of mystery polio-like paralysis

A major review by UNSW Sydney medical researchers has identified strong evidence that a virus called Enterovirus D68 is the cause of a mystery polio-like illness that has paralysed children in the US, Canada and Europe.

22 Jan 2018

UVA Children's Hospital finds potential cause of child paralysis outbreak

A mysterious outbreak of child paralysis cases previously linked to enterovirus D68 may instead have another cause, doctors at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital are cautioning after determining that a stricken child appeared to be suffering from a different virus.

17 Jul 2015