Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS) and Other Immune-Mediated Neuropathies

Abstract

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is the most common serious immune-mediated disease affecting the peripheral nervous system (PNS). GBS is an acute diffuse illness affecting nerve roots and peripheral nerves, and occasionally the cranial nerves, often ascending from the feet over hours to days to the arms and sometimes bulbar muscles, resulting in motor weakness, and relatively sparing sensory functions; most patients who survive the acute paralysis recover completely within months. The disease was first described by the French neurologist, Landry, in 1859 (Inset 9.1).