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Introduction: Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) frequently occurs after a stroke. Its association with a poor prognosis is open to discussion., Objective: To study, in a physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) unit, the possible repercussions of SAS on neurological and functional recovery as well as attentional abilities following a stroke., Patients and Methods: Forty-five patients, all of whom had recently had a stroke without previously documented SAS, were screened using the ApneaLink(®) system. An apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) score ≥10 was considered as indicative of SAS. The NIHSS, Fugl-Meyer (FM) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) Scales were applied on admission and at two months as means of assessing neurological and functional recovery, which was expressed by the difference between the first and the second scores (delta FM, delta NIHSS, delta FIM). The Battery Attention William Lennox (BAWL) Test was given once in order to evaluate attention disorders. SAS severity was categorized according to the AHI. We compared the groups formed (mild, moderate and severe) using the same method., Results: Twenty-eight patients (62.2%) presented AHI ≥ 10. Stroke characteristics were comparable in the SAS+ and the SAS- groups, with average post-stroke time lapse of 26 days, initial average FIM score of 71.2 points ± 26.3 and initial average NIHSS score of 8.9 ± 4.9. The demographic characteristics of the two groups were likewise comparable with the exception of age, as the SAS+ group was pronouncedly older (65.4 vs. 53.5 years). As for delta FIM, which evaluated functional recovery, it averaged 31.8 ± 20.6. Cases of SAS were found to be mild (37.1%), moderate (28.6%) or severe (34.3%). No significant difference was observed on admission or at 2 months as regards the clinical scales or the BAWL test between the two groups or according to severity, except for the NIHSS score at 2 months in the severe sub-group., Discussion and Conclusion: This study did not demonstrate the supposed repercussions of SAS on the recovery or attentional abilities of post-stroke patients. The tests were maybe given too early; they should take place at a lengthier time interval after the stroke, and also to be more complete., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Polio survivors in France are estimated at 50,000. This study aimed at describing their needs from their clinical and vocational conditions., Method: A retrospective study of our physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) consultation activity., Results: One hundred and fifteen women/85 men, with a mean age of 51years±14.3 (17 to 82). Paralysis involved only one lower limb in 108 patients, the two lower limbs in 56 patients and only one upper limb in 4. At the time of the first consultation 137 patients had experienced functional worsening. The complaints were pain (105 subjects), fatigue (59) and new paresis (58). Only 25% had retired. Post-polio syndrome criteria were present in 46 subjects (23%). Patients who had contracted poliomyelitis in France (56%) differed from the other subjects with regard to age (58.4 versus 41.5), professional status and frequency of PPS (30.9% versus 12.6%)., Conclusion: These polio survivors were not particularly aged and they had often experienced functional worsening. The evolution of their disease shall represent a public health issue over the decades to come., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)