Guillain-Barre SyndromeMedical Author:
Michael A LoGuidice Sr, DO
Coauthor:
Mark Persin, DO
Medical Editor:
Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Ron Fuerst, MD
Guillain-Barre Syndrome OverviewGuillain-Barre syndrome is a nerve disorder. It is an acute and rapidly progressive inflammation of nerves that causes loss of sensation and muscle weakness. This syndrome causes the destruction, removal, or loss of the myelin sheath of a nerve. Myelin is the substance of the cell membrane that coils to form the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath serves as an electrical insulator to nerve fibers. It is also known as a polyneuropathy, which is a disease that involves several nerves. |
WebMD Daily
Get breaking medical news.
From WebMD
Brain and Nervous System Resources
Featured Centers
- Ask the Nutritionist: Weight Loss Tips
- Which Drugstore Tooth Whiteners Work Best?
- Gout: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Flu in Adults Overview
Many people commonly and incorrectly confuse influenza (the flu) with the common cold. Differentiating a cold from the flu by symptoms alone can sometimes be difficult or impossible, but in general, people with the flu get sick more suddenly, look much sicker, and feel much weaker than if the ailment were a common cold. Higher fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more often symptoms of the flu, whereas runny or stuffy nose are more often associated with common colds.
- The common cold is a mild infection frequently caused by viruses other than the influenza virus.
- Flu is an acute infection of the airway tract in the nose and throat that can sometimes spread down into the lungs. It is the most frequent cause of acute respiratory illness and can affect people of all ages. It occurs every year mainly in late fall and early winter and in a widespread fashion, affecting many people of different ages at the sa...
Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape
Guillain-Barre Syndrome in Childhood »
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), or acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), is characterized by progressive motor weakness and areflexia.
Featured Topics
Medical Dictionary
Pill Identifier on RxList
- quick,
easy,
pill identification
Find a Local Pharmacy
- including
24 hour
pharmacies

