Guillain Barre

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Dear Karen,
My husband was recently diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome after falling while at work in Pa and shattering his femur on his left leg. There isn’t much information about this and seems to be a very rare disorder.

Although he did not contract it from a vaccine, why in the world would they permit a drug to be used if it can cause such a thing to happen? Even the flu shot can result in Guillian-Barre! This has changed our lives, and taken a healthy active man into being completely disabled, all within a 24 hour period.

I just wanted to know how many people actually have been diagnosed with this Syndrome and why you never hear of it.

Thanks,
Norma Forney
Hardy

A:  I have had several people call me over the years about Guillain-Barrre Syndrome and the horrible effects it can have on day to day life.  You are right it is a rare disorder. According to the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website it affects one in 100,000 people.

N.I.N.D.S. also reports, “Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally surgery or vaccinations will trigger the syndrome.”

As with any medical treatments or medicines doctors often tell me it is important for a patient to talk with their physician about whether the benefit that treatment can provide outweighs the potential risk involved.

From what I have found no one knows exactly why one person gets it over another or exactly what causes it.  The disorder affects the immune system and basically causes it to attack healthy parts of the body.  It affects reflexes and muscle strength and may take time for a physician to properly diagnose.

Researchers are still looking for better ways to treat the syndrome and figure out exactly what causes it.

Below is contact information for the Brain Resources and Information network that has more about research programs funded by the N.I.N.D.S.

BRAIN
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
(800) 352-9424
or click here to go directly to the organization’s website