GuillanBarre Syndrome

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Guillan-Barre Syndrome

• By
• David Eschbaugh

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What is Guillan-Barre Syndrome?

• It is an illness that attacks the peripheral
  nervous system and paralyzes it
• Can be potentially life threatening if not
  treated due to slowed heartbeat, breathing rate,
  and lowered blood pressure
• First documented in 1916 by Georges Guillain,
  Jean Alexander Barre and Andre Strohl

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Symptoms

• Rapidly increasing weakness or tingling sensation
  in arms and legs
• Paralysis in breathing muscles, arms, legs, and
  face
• Loss of reflexes

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Diagnosis

• It is very hard to detect especially in early
  stages because its symptoms are similar to many
  other common diseases.
• A key point in recognition is the high speed at
  which the symptoms accelerate
• Paralysis or numbness usually occurs on both
  sides of the body instead of one side or the
  other
• Its symptoms tend to follow colds and various
  viral and bacterial infections

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Diagnosis Continued

• A nerve conduction velocity test (NCV) can help
  diagnose it by testing the speed of the signals
  the nerves are sending through them
• A spinal tap can help detect it because
  cerebrospinal fluid which surrounds the brain and
  spine contains a larger amount of protein than
  usual

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Treatment

• At this time there is no known cure but there are
  things that can be done to help some patients
  recover faster
• Moving the patients limbs to help keep them
  strong is often essential
• Many times machines such as a respirator and
  heart monitors are necessary to make sure they do
  not slow to a threatening pace due to paralysis.

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Treatment Continued

• Uncertain of how they work, there are two major
  treatments that have been found to be equally
  effective in helping patients recover
• Plasmapheresis
• High-dose immunoglobulin therapy

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Plasmapheresis

• Plasmapheresis is the process of removing the
  patients blood and separating the blood cells
  from the plasma and then returning then
  reintroducing the blood cells back into the body
  without the plasma

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High-dose immunoglobulin therapy

• High-dose immunoglobulin therapy is a treatment
  that involves a repeated injections of proteins
  that for unknown reasons, help decrease the
  attacks of Guillan-Barre Syndrome on the
  peripheral nervous system

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Prognosis

• Within a year over 50 of all patients recover
  within a year (1)
• Muscle pain can be treated with aspirin or
  stronger prescription medications (2)
• Muscle spasms can be controlled with relaxants
  such as Valium (3)
• In the latter stages of rehabilitation, lingering
  sensation problems can be treated with tricyclic
  antidepressants or anti-convulsants such as
  Gabapentin (4)

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Causes

• There is no known reason as to why people get
  Guillan-Barre Syndrome.
• Guillan-Barre Syndrome is not hereditary
• Guillan-Barre Syndrome is not contagious

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Prevalence

• Guillan-Barre Syndrome is not more prevalent
  upon either sex
• Age is not a factor
• Guillan-Barre Syndrome is rare and only affects
  about one person in 100,000 (5)

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The discoverers of Guillan-Barre Syndrome

• Georges Charles Guillain
• Jean-Alexandre Barre
•    
• André Strohl
•    

During the first world war, these three French
neurologists did tests on paralyzed soldiers
finding what would later be known as
Guillan-Barre Syndrome
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Footnotes

• (1) according to
• http//www.neurologychannel.com/guillain
• (2) according to
• http//www.neurologychannel.com/guillain
• (3) according to
• http//www.neurologychannel.com/guillain
• (4) according to
• h5tp//www.neurologychannel.com/guillain
• (5) according to
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome Fact Sheet.
   National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
  Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,
  MD

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References

• Autoimmune neuropathies Guillain-Barré syndrome
  proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the
  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
  Stroke and the Association Internationale pour la
  Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences,
  Bethesda, Maryland, November 6-8, 1989 /
  supplement editors, Arthur K. Asbury, Clarence J.
  Gibbs, Jr.
• Experimental allergic neuritis studies on
  pathogenesis and immunoregulation Karin
  Strigård. SeriesIn Acta neurologica Scandinavica
  no. 123 (1989)
• Guillain-Barre syndrome Bethesda, Md. U.S.
  Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health
  Service, National Institutes of Health, 2001
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome Fact Sheet.  National
  Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
  National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
• http//www.neurologychannel.com/guillain
• http//medweb.pc.edu/students/med2003/miller1/guil
  lain.html