A Clinical Study of Probable Acute Axonal Guillain-Barre Syndrome Occuring at a Mental Hospital

Lee, Dong Kuck

Ann Clin Neurophysiol > 2000 ;2(2) > Article

Ann Clin Neurophysiol. 2000; 2(2): 81-88.

Dong Kuck Lee

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

Background : Guillain-Barre syndrome(GBS) is characterized clinically by acute flaccid paralysis, are flexia, and albumino-cytologic dissociation. Based on electrophysiology and pathology, GBS can be divided into either predominantly demyelinating or presominantly axonal patterns. Objectives : The clinical and laboratory status of probable acute axonal GBS occurring at a mental hospital was evaluated. Methods : Eight schizophrenia patients with probable acute axonal GBS were analyzed. Results : The mean age of the patients was 38 years old. Most of the patients were men. All patients showed an acute ascending paraparesis and/or quadriparesis with areflexia, and all have al history of schizophrenia for 3~20 years. The disease occurred predominantlyin the summer and electrodiagnostic studies revealed axonal patterns. The patients were treated by supportive care, except one patient with intravenous immunoglobulin. The prognosis was improved in 3 ; no change in 4 and 1 became aggravated. One patient with acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy had a recurrence after 10 months of the first attack. Conclusions : Axonal GBS has been considered uncommon clinically or electrophysiologically, but 8 probable acute axonal GBSs occurring at a mental hospital have been diagnosed in 3.5 years

Key words: Axonal Guillain-Barre syndrome, Mental hospital