Guillain Barre Syndrome : Daily Current Affairs

Guillain Barre Syndrome

Why in News?

  • In a rare complication, some patients infected with Covid-19 have been found suffering from Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS).

About

  • In India, such cases have been reported since August.
  • A group of neurologists in Mumbai is now mapping these cases and their symptoms. So far, 24 cases have been added to the study.

Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS)

  • Guillain Barre Syndrome is a very rare autoimmune disorder.
  • A disorder in which the immune system, in an attempt to kill the coronavirus, accidentally starts attacking the peripheral nervous system.
  • The peripheral nervous system is a network of nerves that lead from the brain and spinal cord to different parts of the body. Attacking them can affect limb functions.

Symptoms

  • The syndrome’s first symptoms are a tingling or itching sensation in the skin, followed by muscle weakness, pain and numbness.
  • The symptoms may emerge first in feet and hands.
  • A person then starts experiencing reflex loss and paralysis, which may be temporary, but can last for 6-12 months or longer.
  • With Covid-19 a year old, it is still difficult to assess the nature of permanency GBS in such cases may present.

Cause

  • GBS is caused by bacteria or viral infection.
  • In the past, patients of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome showed GBS symptoms, as did those infected with Zika, HIV, Herpes virus and Campylobacter jejuni.

Treatment

  • Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and sometimes plasma therapy helps recovery in patients with GBS.
  • Some patients may develop severe complications and require intensive care treatment or ventilator support.
  • Studies have indicated that patients need a few weeks of hospitalisation.
  • If a patient is not treated, his condition may deteriorate as there could be respiratory failure as the worst outcome, or weakness and effect on walking and limb movement.
  • Patients cannot be treated at home, they need hospitalisation and immunoglobulin or plasma.

GBS Development

  • In June, The New England Journal of Medicine published an article giving case details of five patients in three hospitals of Italy, who suffered from this syndrome after getting infected by Sars-CoV-2 virus. Initial symptoms were weakness in lower limbs and a pricking sensation in the skin.
  • An interval of 5-10 days is noticed between onset of GBS symptoms and Covid-19 infection, but some doctors say it can also take weeks after Covid-19 infection for a person to develop GBS.
  • The British Medical Journal published a similar case from Japan last month, where a 54-year-old woman developed numbness and weakness and required two week hospitalisation. Tests showed she had pneumonia in chest, and her Covid-19 report came positive.
  • Various studies have some consensus: the GBS symptoms emerge a few days after Covid-19 infection. Several patients who have recovered or are about to recover have developed its symptoms, and most have recovered.

Complications due to CovonaVirus

  • Covid-19 is known to affect digestive, cardiac and kidney functions.
  • It is also known that some patients are prone to neurological problems if they contract the virus.
  • The virus can cause memory fog, anxiety, headache and depression if it attacks parts of the brain which form the central nervous system.
  • In all these cases, the virus attacks the organs or tissues directly leading to the complication. But in some cases, it can have an indirect effect.
  • It can trigger an immune response so powerful that the body’s peripheral nervous system can come under attack.