4. • Acute inflammatory demyelinating
polyneuropathy (AIDP) is the most
common form of GBS, and the term is
often used synonymously with GBS.
• It is caused by an auto-immune
response directed against Schwann
cell membranes.
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5. • Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) is a rare variant of
GBS.
• Accounting for approximately 5% of GBS
cases, it manifests as a
descending paralysis, proceeding in the reverse
order of the more common form of GBS.
• It usually affects the eye muscles first and
presents with the triad of ophthalmoplegia,
ataxia, and areflexia.
• The ataxia predominantly affects the gait and
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trunk, with the limbs relatively spared.
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6. • Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), also
known as Chinese paralytic syndrome, attacks
motor nodes of Ranvier and is prevalent
in China and Mexico.
• It is probably due to an auto-immune response
directed against the axoplasm of peripheral
nerves.
• The disease may be seasonal and recovery can
be rapid.
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7. • Acute motor sensory axonal neuropathy
(AMSAN) is similar to AMAN but also
affects sensory nerves with severe axonal
damage.
• Like AMAN, it is probably due to an
auto-immune response directed against
the axoplasm of peripheral nerves.
• Recovery is slow and often incomplete.
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8. • Acute panautonomic neuropathy is the
most rare variant of GBS, sometimes
accompanied by encephalopathy.
• It is associated with a high mortality
rate, owing to cardiovascular
involvement, and associated dysrhythmias.
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9. • Bickerstaff's brainstem
encephalitis (BBE) is a further variant
of Guillain–Barré syndrome.
• It is characterized by acute onset of
ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, disturbance of
consciousness, hyperreflexia
or Babinski's sign.
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11. FACTS
• Guillain-Barré syndrome occurs when
the immune system attacks the
peripheral nervous system
• leading to weakness or tingling in the
legs. Symptoms sometimes affect the
arms and upper body.
• Severe cases of Guillain-Barré can lead
to paralysis and are life-threatening.
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12. • Guillain-Barré is a very rare condition
• afflicts about one person out of
100,000.
• The condition often manifests after a
respiratory or gastrointestinal viral
infection.
• Surgery or vaccines may also trigger
GBS. 12
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13. • The autoimmune reaction in Guillain-
Barré is directed against the myelin
sheaths that surround the axons of
peripheral nerves or the axons (parts of the
nerve) themselves.
• The greatest point of weakness or
paralysis can occur in days or weeks after
the first symptoms occur.
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14. • Because the signs and symptoms of
GBS vary, it can be difficult to diagnose
the condition in the early stages.
• A physical exam as well as an
examination of the cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) obtained from a spinal tap may
help aid diagnosis.
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15. • Treatment of Guillain-Barré syndrome
may include
• plasma exchange (plasmapheresis)
• high-dose immunoglobulin therapy.
• A respirator may be used if the patient
requires assistance to breathe.
• Physical therapy can begin after the
patient recovers limb control.
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16. • The recovery period after about of
Guillain-Barré may be as little as a few
weeks or as long as a few years.
• About 30% of those with Guillain-Barré
may suffer from residual weakness after 3
years.
• Ongoing research seeks to identify the
cause of Guillain-Barré and develop new
and better treatments. 16
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17. What is GBS?
• Body's immune system attacks part of
the peripheral nervous system.
• Can affect anybody, can strike at any
age and both sexes
• Rare : afflicts 1 or 2 in 100,000
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18. • Usually occurs a few days or weeks after
the patient has had symptoms of a
respiratory or gastrointestinal viral or
bacterial infection.
• First symptoms
• varying degrees of weakness in legs
• tingling sensations in the legs
• Weakness and abnormal sensations
spread to the arms and upper body.
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19. • Severe: Muscle Wasting, Paralysis.
• Life threatening - potentially interfering
with breathing and with blood pressure
or heart rate.
• Most patients recover from even the most
severe cases of GBS, although some
continue to have a certain degree of
weakness.
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20. CAUSES
• Not yet exactly known.
• Body's immune system begins to attack
the body itself
• Destroy the myelin sheath that surrounds
the axons of many peripheral nerves, or
even the axons themselves
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21. • Peripheral nerve’s myelin sheaths are injured
or degraded, the nerves cannot transmit
signals efficiently
• Motor and sensory response becomes weak.
• Signals to and from the arms and legs must
travel the longest distances : most
vulnerable to interruption
• So muscle weakness and tingling sensations
first appear in the hands and feet and
progress upwards 21
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22. • GBS is preceded by a viral or bacterial
infection
• It is possible that the virus has changed the
nature of cells in the nervous system so that
the immune system treats them as foreign
cells
• Virus makes the immune system itself less
discriminating about what cells it recognizes
as its own
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23. • Symptoms can progress over the course of
hours, days, or weeks.
• Most people reach the stage of greatest
weakness within the first 2 weeks after
symptoms appear
• By the third week of the illness, 90 percent
of all patients are at their weakest.
• Cause and course of GBS is an active area of
neurological investigation
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24. DIAGNOSIS
• Reflexes such as knee jerks are usually
lost.
• As the signals traveling along the nerve
are slower, a nerve conduction velocity
(NCV) test aids in diagnosis.
• The CSF contains more protein than
usual. (spinal tap test, a procedure in
which needle is inserted into the patient's
lower back to draw csf from the spinal
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25. TREATMENT
• No known cure
• Plasmapheresis (Exchange of Plasma)
• High-dose immunoglobulin therapy.
• Both reduce the severity and duration
of the Guillain-Barré episode.
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