According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare autoimmune disorder affecting an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 Americans each year. For those afflicted, it can be a troubling and scary experience, as symptoms typically occur suddenly and unexpectedly.
Matthew Le, M.D., an OU Health pediatric physician and clinical assistant professor in pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, explains that GBS is a neurological condition where the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection, such as a cold or stomach bug. The immune system attacks the body’s nerves and causes weakness and, sometimes, paralysis. Symptoms can progress within hours, days or over a few weeks, with the most severe stages of weakness typically occurring within the first two weeks after symptoms appear.
“It is the most common cause of flaccid paralysis in healthy infants and children in the post-polio era,” says Le, adding that most patients present with an inability to walk. “The disease usually starts in the legs and moves upward through the body. There are other variants that can start in the face. The most serious stage of the disease is when the paralysis reaches the diaphragm, which causes patients to stop breathing on their own.”
Understanding the Cause
There is still no clear understanding of why some people will develop GBS and most others don’t.
“We believe that a prior infection may trigger the reaction,” says Le. “The most common infection is a bacterial infection called Campylobacter. However, other cases have been documented following things such as colds and flu, Epstein-Barr virus – the virus that causes mono – and mycoplasma, a bacteria that typically causes pneumonia. Anyone can get Guillain-Barré, though it is rare in young children.”
While GBS can affect all age groups, risk increases with age and males are more affected than females.
When to Seek Help + Treatment Options
If you or a loved one experience sudden muscle weakness that continues to worsen over hours or days, seek medical attention immediately. Hospitalization is often necessary as GBS symptoms can cause respiratory failure, cardiac arrhythmias and unstable blood pressure.
At this time, there is no known cure for GBS, however there are two common treatments to help lessen the severity of the condition.
“Treatment for GBS usually involves intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG,” says Le. “This is a blood product made up of antibodies from thousands of donors. The thought is that the antibodies will interact with the antibodies attacking the nerves and neutralize them.”
If this treatment isn’t successful, patients may undergo a plasma exchange where the plasma in a patient’s blood is filtered out and replaced with new plasma.
Recovery from GBS can be a slow process. Le says the rate of recovery varies based on how extensive the disease was, how soon it was recognized and treated, and on individual patient factors.
“Depending on which nerves are affected, patients may need physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy,” he says. Patients may also need mobility aids such as canes, walkers or wheelchairs during recovery.
“In children, the prognosis is good. Most recover within six months and nearly all will recover by a year,” says Le.
For adults, while most people make a full recovery, the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy reports that about 20% of patients still have disability after more than a year, and others experience long-term nerve damage.
