Comparative study of preceding Campylobacter jejuni infection in Guillain-Barré syndrome in Japan and The Netherlands.
A comparative study was made in Japan and The Netherlands of the presence of preceding Campylobacter jejuni infections in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). It was conducted in two laboratories using different serological criteria. The Japanese results showed no significant difference in the frequency of C jejuni infection between the Japanese (17/88, 19%) and Dutch (21/132, 16%) patients with GBS. The Dutch investigation showed a higher frequency in Dutch patients (45/132; 34%) than in Japanese patients(20/88; 23%), but the difference did not reach significance. Although the frequencies of preceding C jejuni infection have been reported to be higher in Asian countries than in western countries, the findings of this collaborative study show that the incidence of antecedent C jejuni infection in GBS in Japan is not higher than in The Netherlands and that serological assays vary considerably between laboratories.
Koga
M
M
Department of Neurology, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Kitakobayashi 880, Mibu, Shimotsuga, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan.
Ang
C W
CW
Yuki
N
N
Jacobs
B C
BC
Herbrink
P
P
van der Meché
F G
FG
Hirata
K
K
van Doorn
P A
PA
D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000097:blood*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D007564:Japan; D009426:Netherlands