Conditions & Diseases: Brain & Nervous System

Guillain Barré Syndrome

See Also:
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Introduction
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Types
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Causes & Risk Factors
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Signs & Symptoms
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Treatment

Causes & Risk Factors

The exact causes of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) are not known. It is neither contagious nor hereditary (4).

A viral or bacterial infection causes allergic reaction which damages the protective sheath around the peripheral nerves (demyelination) leading to cessation of signal passage to muscles, which causes tingling, weakness and eventual short-term paralysis (1).

Generally, a viral or bacterial infection precedes the onset of GBS. The infections are as follows:

• Flu and Common cold

• Gastrointestinal viral infection

• Infectious mononucleosis

• Viral hepatitis

• Campylobacteriosis (usually from eating undercooked poultry)

• Porphyria (rare disease of red blood cells) (4).

• Bacterial infections (such as salmonella poisoning)

• Hodgkin's disease, (tumor of the lymph glands - the small, bean-sized organs that carry white blood cells)

• Immunization (such as the influenza vaccine) in very rare cases (1).

See Also:
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Introduction
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Types
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Causes & Risk Factors
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Signs & Symptoms
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Treatment

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com