Also referred to as: Infectious polyneuritis, Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Landry's ascending paralysis
What is it?
Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is an
acute condition that involves progressive muscle weakness or paralysis. It is an
autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own nervous system, causing
inflammation that damages the cover (
myelin sheath) of the nerve. This damage (called demyelinazation) slows or stops the conduction of impulses through the nerve. The impairment of nerve impulses to the muscles leads to symptoms that may include muscle weakness, paralysis, spasms, numbness, tingling or pins-and-needle sensations, and/or tenderness. Affected patients may become so weak that they have trouble breathing and their heart rate becomes abnormal.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome it is a relatively rare condition. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), about 1 person in 100,000 will have GBS. It can affect anyone at any age. It is an unusual neuropathy in that it spontaneously reverses and most patients recover most or all of the lost nerve and muscle function.
The exact cause of GBS and why it affects one person and not another is not well understood. The autoimmune process may be spontaneous or may be triggered by some specific disease or exposure. Cases have been seen in patients who have had various viral and bacterial infections including HIV infection, in patients with chronic diseases such as lupus (SLE), Hodgkin lymphoma (and some other malignancies), and in patients who recently had a vaccination (such as for rabies or swine flu).
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