Guillain-Barre Syndrome (Clinical Medicine and the Nervous System)

This specialized book is devoted solely to the subject of Guillain-Barre syndrome and inflammatory neuropathies. It describes the pathogenesis, clinical features, neurophysiology and treatment of Guillain-Barre syndrome, an acute paralyzing disorder usually due to inflammation and demyelination in the spinal roots and peripheral nerves. In clinical practice, the syndrome is an important cause of neuromuscular paralysis requiring artificial ventilation. The pathogenesis is interpreted in the light of experimental models of inflammatory neuropathy induced by antibody or T lymphocyte responses directed against myelin or purified myelin antigens. These autoimmune responses are triggered by infections with viruses, including the virus which causes AIDS. The pathology and immunology of Guillain-Barre syndrome are compared with chronic idiopathic demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy and inflammatory human neuropathies, such as in vasculitis and leprosy, as well as veterinary conditions such as Marek's Disease.