All about Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Syndrome facts at a glance.

GBS - Facts at a glance
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is a rare inflammation of the nerves, caused by the patient's body producing antibodies against the peripheral nerves. The syndrome affects each patient differently and so the course of the disease differs for each patient.
How and why one contracts GBS is as yet unknown. The syndrome is typically observed after an infection in the lungs, diarrhoea, surgery, vaccination or childbirth.

The inflammation damages portions of the nerve cell, resulting in muscle weakness, paralysis or sensory disturbances. The damage usually involves loss of the nerve's myelin sheath (demyelination), which slows the conduction of impulses through the nerve.
The damage may also involve destruction of the axon part of the nerve cell (denervation), which blocks conduction through the nerve.

This damages the nerves that affect the patients arms, legs, lungs, throat, heart or eyes. The patient will then experience various symptoms, depending on which nerves have been affected, and to what degree.

Patients generally experience one or more of the following symptoms, caused by nerve damage: Pain, sensory irregularities, progressive weakness leading to paralysis or irregular function of the body's autonomous functions.

The disorder is characterised by progressive symmetrical paralysis and loss of reflexes, usually beginning in the legs. This means that in mild cases, the attack on the nerves may stop, going no further. The patient may experience only moderate difficulty in walking, requiring a walking stick or crutches.
In other cases, the progressing attack gives rise to symptoms of increasing severity.
In extreme cases, weakness may have progressed to the extent that the patient is almost totally paralysed. This may cause difficulty breathing, and the patient needs to be immediately hooked to a ventilator that assists breathing. If the muscles of the heart are affected, the patient will experience irregular heartbeat. He or she needs to be hooked to a cardiac monitor immediately. If the swallowing mechanism is affected, a feeding tube may be required.

There are several forms of treatment that generally reduce the duration of the disorder, but there is as yet no cure. Recovery is spontaneous and therefore impossible to predict. Most patients experience nearly complete or complete recovery, although most have lingering after-effects. The recovery process can be quick in some cases, prolonged in others, and physiotherapy is necessary to regain muscle strength and endurance.
Relapses are rare, but may occur many years later.

This website contains details of the syndrome, as well as a number of real-life stories about how GBS manifests itself, and how it affects the lives of patients and their families.
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What is a 'syndrome'?
A syndrome is a medical condition, characterised by a collection of symptoms (that the patient feels) and signs (that a doctor can observe or measure), rather than by a specific organism that causes the disease.

No one knows what causes GBS. Symptoms and signs can vary a great deal in GBS patients, sometimes making it difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages.

The terms 'syndrome', 'disease' and 'GBS' are used synonymously in this website, to indicate Guillain-Barré syndrome.
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The many names of the syndrome
The syndrome was named after the French physicians Guillain, Barré and Strohl, who were the first to describe it in 1916. It is sometimes called Landry's paralysis, after the French physician who first described a variant of it in 1859. It is now known by many names. Here are some of the Latin and English names, with a short explanation:

The long latin names are packed with meaning: Inflammations end in -itis". As GBS is an inflammation of the peripheral nerves (neuro-), it is often called 'neuritis'.
Many nerves are involved, so the term becomes 'polyneuritis'.
More specifically, the nerve roots (the points of attachment of the peripheral nerves to the spinal cord) are attacked by GBS, which leads to the term radiculo-'.
Diseases are -pathy, making polyradiculoneuropathy an inflammation of many peripheral nerves and nerve roots.

By the way, "idiopathic" signifies that the cause of the disease is unknown. Acute means that it is rapid, while inflammatory means irritating, and finally demyelinating indicates that myelin is destroyed.

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Subgroups of GBS:
GBS is not one disease - the syndrome has several variants differentiated by their symptoms, the preceding infection, the duration of the inflammatory phase, severity, etc. These forms are sometimes called subgroups of the Guillain-Barré syndrome family of nerve disorders. They are less common in children than in adults.

- CIDP, MFS, PDN/MGUS and other chronic variants
(Scandinavians: Check the danish section of the website for more info).
Acquired neuropathies ( PDF file)

A chapter from the book "Acquired Neuropathies" which discusses GBS, CIDP, and other acquired neuropathies. CIDP is primarily distinguished from GBS by its clinical history, the length of time it takes to progress to its worst point, and the pattern of repeated attacks.
An overview of CIDP
GBS-Tasmania. Excellent.
CIDP
Mayo clinic, USA.
CIDP
GBS-Australia. Short guide for patients and families.
Laurie Millers CIDP website
Good information, many links.
All about GBS: Focus on MMN
This websites exclusive collection of resources, case histories and links.
PDN info
Good source, written by a PDN-sufferer.
Recurrent Guillain Barre' syndrome

- Case histories
Extensive database of Danish, English and foreign-language case histories for inspiration and support. Written by patients, their families, and even health professionals.