Guillain-Barre syndrome

Sep 17
07:08

2008

Juliet Cohen

Juliet Cohen

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Guillain-Barré syndrome is very rare: It only affects one or two people in every 100,000. Most of the people who do get Guillain-Barré syndrome recover and are bright to come back to their normal lives and activities. Guillain-Barre syndrome sometimes is triggered by a respiratory disease or the stomach flu.

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Guillain-Barré syndrome is a uncommon health situation that affects the nerves outside a person's brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nerves convey sensory information (e.g.,Guillain-Barre syndrome Articles pain, temperature) from the body to the brain and motor (i.e., movement) signals from the brain to the body.

Guillain-Barre syndrome may be an autoimmune disorder in which the body produces antibodies that harm the myelin sheath that surrounds peripheral nerves. The myelin sheath is a oily stuff that surrounds axons. It enlarges the speed at which signals travel along the nerves. The primary symptoms of GBS are generally numbness or tingling (paresthesia) in the toes and fingers, with progressive weakness in the arms and legs over the next few days. Several patients experience paresthesia only in their toes and legs; others only experience symptoms on one side of the body.

In about 60 percent of the cases, an infection affecting also the lungs or the digestive area precedes the disorder. The symptoms may live in this stage, causing only meek difficulty in walking, requiring crutches or a walking stick. However, sometimes the illness progresses, leading to complete paralysis of the arms and legs. About 30 percent of the people who have the disorder will temporarily require the assist of a machine to breathe. Muscle and joint pain can be treated with over-the-counter analgesics such as aspirin. If essential, stronger pain drug may be prescribed.

Muscle spasms can be managed with relaxants such as diazepam. A new treatment for GBS is immunoglobulin therapy. This involves using well antibodies from blood donors to assist block the harmful antibodies in the body of the person with GBS. Plasmapheresis treatment also known as plasma exchange is a type of "blood cleansing" in which damaging antibodies are removed from your blood. Plasmapheresis consists of removing the liquid portion of your blood and separating it from the actual blood cells. Treatment with plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin shortens the time period before recovery begins by as much as 50 percent.

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