COVID-19 infection can precede Guillain-Barré's syndrome in rare cases

The COVID-19 may precede Guillain-Barre's syndrome (SGB) in "Rare cases", as a study indicates, although the authors indicate that "the existence of a true association or causal relationship should still be established."

An investigation by publishes today Brain analyzed an international base of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, known as the International SGB Results Study (IGOS).

Guillain-Barré's syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nerves, causing muscle weakness and, sometimes, paralysis. The disease, which is relatively rare, can last weeks or several years and may be serious.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, doctors have reported more than 90 SGB diagnoses after a possible COVID-19 infection, however, it is not clear whether this is another possible infectious trigger or if the reported cases are coincident.

The team focused on patients from January 30 to May 30, period during which 49 new people with SGB under study, from China, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, were added. , Switzerland and United Kingdom.

In this cohort study, 22% of patients with SGB included in research during the first four months of the pandemic had a previous infection by Covid-19.

All of them were more than 50 years old and often experienced facial paralysis and had a demyelinating form of the disease.

At the time of hospital admission, 73% of SGB patients with COVID-19 infection presented an increase in inflammatory markers.

All these patients met the diagnostic criteria of both Guillain-Barré syndrome and COVID-19.

However, the researchers stressed that they did not find more patients diagnosed with SGB during the first four months of the pandemic compared to previous years.

This suggests that, "although it is not likely that there is a strong association between an infection by Covid-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome, an infection by Covid-19 can sometimes lead to patients to develop Guillain's syndrome- Barré ".

One of the authors of the BART JACOBS study indicated that the investigation "shows that the COVID-19 can precede Guillain-Barré syndrome in rare cases", although it added that "the existence of a true association or causal relationship must still be established" .

In addition to the known serious respiratory signs, and the risk of long-term complications caused by COVID-19, researchers have also reported central and peripheral neurological complications.