So What Is GBS & CIDP?

Guillain Barré Syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease that causes the body's immune system to attack the nervous system. The result of this attack is an ascending weakening of the body and often an onset of ascending paralysis. This paralysis could be as little as just the feet and hands or can be the entire body head to toe. There are three stages of a Guillain Barré Attack. The progressive stage that is the initial onset typically lasting from a few days up to 4 or 5 weeks, the plateau stage which is a stage where we see very minimal changes and can last from a few days to several months, and the recovery stage that can last weeks to years depending on the severity of the case and how the body handles it. Diagnosing GBS is typically made by a lab study of the cerebral spinal fluid collected through a Spinal Tap. The fluid will show an elevated protein level which is evidence of the myelin breakdown in the nerve roots. Supportive tests include nerve induction studies and strength testing. Treatment, to at least stop the stage of progression, is iViG infusions and sometimes a blood conditioning treatment called plasmaphereses and then in recovery physical therapy. Guillain Barré is a demyelinating condition meaning it damages the myelin that happens to be what makes up the protective coating around the nerves. Once the coating is damaged the signal from the brain cannot effectively transfer through the nerve to activate movement in that part of the body. If the signal cannot travel through the nerves we develop the onset of paralysis. Once the damage is done its typically a long road to recovery as nerves repair themselves at a rate of roughly 1 millimeter per 24-48 hours. Depending on the damage, it could take a great deal of time for the nerves to repair and then the body has to rebuild the muscle mass it lost while it was shut . Recovery can be very slow and drawn out. However all cases effect everyone differently. Common causes of GBS are respiratory infections, infections in the digestive system and some vaccinations have known links to triggering Guillain Barré. However any infection in the body can be a root cause of the onset. Less than 20,000 cases of GBS are reported each year in the United States alone and those numbers seem to be growing with more developments in vaccinations and as more people gain knowledge of GBS. What we mean by growing numbers with more knowledge is that it's definitely a thought that some minor cases go undiagnosed due to the lack of knowledge. The patient naturally makes an initial recovery on a condition that never gained a confirmation. With this, we sadly see some fatal cases left unlabeled as GBS and left set as natural causes also due to no exact confirmation. With a better understanding about GBS more cases actually make confirmation.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a slowly developing autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the myelin that insulates and protects your body's nerves. The exact cause is not known. Common symptoms are gradual weakness or sensation changes in the arms or legs. 

CIDP is in a nutshell the same as GBS only the onset is typically slower, infact most cases have to have 6-8 weeks minimum of symptoms for a consideration of CIDP being the cause. CIDP holds a little different characteristic than GBS with its name giving us the clue. The word "chronic" is a storytelling word with this disease as the word is defined as something long and drawn-out or likely to reoccur. Where GBS is typically one big hit and then takes a period of time to recover, CIDP is often a drawn out increase of symptoms and with treatment the symptoms dissipate but the process will repeat itself over and over. This means unlike GBS that makes the attack and a treatment stops it and then is generally followed by recovery, CIDP often requires regular consistent treatments on a life long management basis. CIDP is one in the same with GBS with the fact that it is an autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the body's nerves causing damage to the protective coating around the nerves known as myelin. CIDP just typically has a more gradual build in symptoms and is repetitive. CIDP is not medically considered "fatal" but it can cause complications with the body that can be life risking and in most cases the disease most definitely depreciates a person's quality of life. Some describe CIDP as if the contract minor GBS on acases from every few months to sometimes as little as one episode per year or two.  Regular management is a regular scheduled infusion of iViG at your local infusion center. When the flare-ups get bad it sometimes requires inpatient care.