Comparative Study between COVID Associated Guillan Barre Syndrome and Non-COVID Associated Guillan-Barré Syndrome

Abstract

More than 12 million people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide, with more than 500,000 deaths to date.1 Although COVID-19 research is rapidly evolving, new findings must be thoroughly scrutinised before any conclusions or treatment protocols are established or amended.2 Although COVID-19 is most usually associated with respiratory symptoms such as cough and dyspnea; it has recently been associated with a neurotropic presentation.3 Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is best described as an acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy clinically characterized by areflexia and progressive weakness of arms and legs. Though, many rare variants of GBS have been described, the commonly observed subtypes such as Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy (AMAN), Acute Motor Sensory Axonal Neuropathy (AMSAN) and Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) tend to fulfil the above-mentioned criteria.4 Recently, several case reports have suggested a relationship between the occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, which preceded the GBS onset by up to 4 weeks. Therefore, a post-infectious dysregulation of the immune system, triggered by SARS- CoV2, appears to be the most probable cause COVID-19 is a systemic disorder presenting typically with fever and respiratory symptoms but neurological manifestations such as acute cerebrovascular diseases, seizures, ageusia, anosmia meningitis, encephalitis and skeletal muscle involvement were soon reported.5 More recently, an increase in case reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 has prompted concerns about a possible link.