Epidemiology of the Guillain-Barré syndrome

Abstract

This review focuses on recent epidemiological findings on Guillain-Barré syndrome regarding incidence, antecedent events related to the disease, prognosis and prognostic indicators, and treatment. Moreover, this review summarizes recent observations on clinical variants of Guillain-Barré syndrome and their relationship with the prevailing clinical presentation of the disease. The epidemiological observations which have advanced the understanding of the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome are also discussed.

Clinical Profile of Guillain Barre’ Syndrome-Observations from a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh

“…Campylobacter jejuni, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are commonly identified antecedent pathogens. 4 Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (AIDP) is by far the most common form of GBS in Europe and North America. Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy (AMAN) andAcute Motor Sensory AxonalNeuropathy (AMSAN) subtypes constitute 30-40% of cases in Asia and South America but are rare in the Western world.…”

Guillain-Barré Syndrome

“…GBS is an acute monophasic immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy with a worldwide incidence of 0.6 to 2.4/100,000 people [3][4][5][6][7]. Though the mean age of onset is 40 years, all ages are affected with slightly more males than females.…”

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

“…Most population-based studies report an incidence of 1.2 and 1.9 cases of GBS in 100,000 individuals per year [2,4]. The incidence tends to increase steadily with age.…”