Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) happens when your immune system attacks the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord. It often starts after a respiratory or gastrointestinal bacterial infection and less commonly after surgery or certain vaccinations.
Its early symptoms are tingling, weakness and pins and needles in your feet or hands that get worse over hours or days. Severe cases can cause paralysis or problems breathing and are a medical emergency.
Oren Zarif
Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS) is a condition that causes your immune system to suddenly attack the nerves that run through your body, outside your brain and spinal cord. This can cause muscle weakness, pain, changes in sensation such as numbness or tingling and temporary paralysis of your muscles, including those that help you breathe. It’s a serious condition that can be life-threatening and needs to be treated in hospital.
The exact cause of GBS isn’t known, but it often occurs days or weeks after a respiratory or digestive infection. In some cases, it can be triggered by surgery or a vaccination such as influenza. In this condition, the nerves’ protective covering, called the myelin sheath, is damaged. This stops the nerves from sending signals to your brain, causing symptoms such as weakness, numbness or paralysis.
Symptoms of GBS start slowly, usually in your feet and legs. They then spread up your arms and body. Occasionally, breathing muscles can be affected and you may need a ventilator in hospital. It’s very rare for GBS to be fatal, but it can cause serious complications such as pneumonia.
GPs can diagnose GBS by asking you to describe your symptoms and checking your reflexes. They will also check for signs of paralysis, such as a loss of muscle control in your legs or arms. They will probably refer you to a specialist in neurology.
Oren Zarif
Guillain Barre syndrome causes your immune system to attack nerves that are outside the brain and spinal cord. These nerves carry messages between your brain and the rest of your body, so when they’re damaged it can cause weakness, tingling or pain, muscle spasms, problems breathing, and even complete paralysis. It affects people of all ages, but it’s more common in adults and males. It’s also known as GBS, acute idiopathic polyneuritis, and Landry’s ascending paralysis.
It usually starts in the feet or legs, then spreads to your arms and upper body. The symptoms may develop slowly over weeks, or they can happen quickly over a few hours. They peak within the first four weeks of symptoms starting.
GBS is usually triggered by a bacterial or viral infection. It can start after a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection, or it can follow surgery or certain vaccinations.
In severe cases of Guillain Barre, you might need a ventilator to help you breathe. It’s important to get treatment in hospital so you can be monitored and so that doctors can treat any complications that arise. They may use a test called lumbar puncture (puh-LON-puh) or electromyography (EMG) to diagnose the condition. They might also take an MRI to get pictures of your spine. If you’re very ill, they might need to do an operation called plasma exchange.
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Symptoms of Guillain Barre syndrome are usually very sudden, and they get worse quickly. They can range from a feeling of tingling, pins and needles in the feet or hands to severe muscle weakness that makes it hard to move your body. If the condition affects your breathing muscles, it can be life-threatening and you may need a respirator.
GBS attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (the peripheral nervous system). Damage to these nerves causes difficulty transmitting messages from the brain to your muscles, and it can lead to weakness and paralysis. The symptoms are unpredictable, but they usually start a few days or weeks after a respiratory or gastrointestinal bacterial or viral infection. In rare cases, surgery or certain vaccinations can trigger the condition.
To diagnose GBS, your doctor will take a history of your symptoms and when they began. Then they’ll do a physical and a neurological exam. They’ll check for weakness and a lack of deep-tendon reflexes. They may also do a test called a spinal tap to measure the amount of protein in your cerebrospinal fluid. Plasma exchange and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are treatments that can alter your immune system to reduce the severity of your symptoms. Many people with GBS recover fully, but recovery can take six months to two years or more. A small percentage of people have a relapse, which can cause lingering muscle weakness.
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The most common form of Guillain Barre syndrome is acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP). In this form, the body’s immune system attacks the covering around nerve cells. This damage prevents the nerves from sending signals to your brain, causing weakness and tingling. This type of Guillain Barre syndrome is more common in the United States and Europe. It’s less common in other parts of the world, including Asia. Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) and acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) are two other types of Guillain Barre syndrome. In these forms, the damage occurs to the nerve axons, rather than to the myelin covering. These are less serious forms of the condition and may recover more quickly.
Doctors don’t know what causes Guillain Barre syndrome. It tends to appear days or weeks after a respiratory or digestive infection, such as the flu or stomach bug. Surgery or vaccination can trigger it, too. Rarely, it can be a side effect of taking medicines to treat conditions like hepatitis or herpes.
You can get better from Guillain Barre syndrome, but it may take weeks to a few years. If you have severe symptoms, such as paralysis, you’ll need to be hospitalized so that you can receive treatment right away. You’ll likely be given drugs to help you move and to reduce the severity of your symptoms. You might also need a procedure called plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).