What can you tell me about recent advances in the management and treatment of Guillain Barre syndrome?

Q. What can you tell me about recent advances in the management and treatment of Guillain Barre syndrome?

A. Guillain Barre syndrome is a condition of progressive weakness that usually follows a viral illness. It appears as though the body starts to fight the nervous system (in other words, it is an autoimmune disease). The most important treatment is supportive since people with Guillain Barre can lose the ability to care for themselves, even breathe for themselves. The condition is usually self-limiting.

Most people receive one or both of two treatments: plasmapheresis or immunoglobulins. While both are effective, immunoglobulin is easier to administer. Immunoglobulin contains antibodies from blood donors, somehow block the effect of the GBS patient's own antibodies. Simply put, plasmapheresis is a type of "blood cleaning" in which damaging antibodies (the key actor in the autoimmune disease) are removed from the blood. There are a host of web sites dedicated to Guillain Barre syndrome. Two good places to start are the Mayo Clinic site (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9708/htm/guillain.htm) and the NIH site (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/healinfo/disorder/guillain/guillain.htm#treated).