Anti-ganglioside antibodies and clinical outcome of patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome in northeast Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to investigate the frequency of GM1 antibodies and to assess whether exposure to Campylobacter jejuni was associated with a distinct clinical variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) or disease outcome in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.


METHODS
Forty-one patients with a presumed diagnosis of GBS were enrolled and prospectively studied between June 1994 and November 1999.


RESULTS
Anti-GM1 was present in 51.2% (n = 21) of patients. The presence of anti-GM1 was significantly associated with acute axonal motor neuropathy when compared to acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (P = 0.01). Patients with anti-GM1 antibodies presented distal muscle involvement and fewer sensory deficits. Age, time to nadir and ventilatory assistance were not associated with anti-GM1 antibodies. Eight out of 21 patients (32%) presented with anti-C. jejuni antibodies. Clinical features were similar for patients with GBS with positive and negative C. jejuni antibodies. Anti-GM1 antibodies were associated with C. jejuni infection (P = 0.0005). Presence of anti-GM1 and C. jejuni antibodies did not indicate a worse prognosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with GBS and anti-GM1 antibodies had more distal muscle weakness, fewer sensory deficits, more axonal degeneration and C. jejuni infection, but these findings were not associated with a worse prognosis.
Dourado
M E
ME
Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
Duarte
R C
RC
Ferreira
L C
LC
Queiroz
J W
JW
Illa
I
I
Perez-Perez
G
G
Guerrant
R L
RL
Jerônimo
S M B
SM
D000367:Age Factors; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000276:immunology*; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012121:Respiration, Artificial
D000906:Antibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D005732:Gangliosides