Guillain-Barre Syndrome Research Paper

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a disorder in which the body 's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances the symmetrical weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and/or the person is almost totally paralyzed. In some severe cases the disorder is life threatening- potentially interfering with breathing and sometimes with blood pressure or heart rate. Becase of these consequences it can be referred to as a medical emergency. Many individuals that have this disorder are often put on a ventilator

It does not matter what age or sex the patients are, it can attack anyone. The syndrome is rare, only afflicting about one person out of 100,000. Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally surgery will trigger the syndrome. Recently, some countries worldwide have reported an increased in GBS following the infection with the Zika virus. In some rare instances vaccinations do not help rather they may increase the risk of

It can occur to someone that has no history in their family. It is rare order that more than one person in the family is diagnosis with this syndrome. When paitents have a bacterial or viral infection may be more likely to develop GBS, however, only a very small percentage of people who have this infection are likely to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome. In order for the immune system to fight the infection, specialized immune cells have to produce proteins called antibodies, which are able to recognize specific proteins or molecules within the bacteria or virus. Some research shows that antibodies that recognize molecules on some pathogens may also recognize proteins on the body’s own nerves. As a result, the immune system attacks the nerves, causing inflammation and damaging the axons and myelin, which can lead to the signs and symptoms of Guillain-Barré