title: Sonographic evaluation of peripheral nerves in subtypes of Guillain-Barré syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sonography of peripheral nerves can depict alteration of nerve sizes that could reflect inflammation and edema in inflammatory and demyelinating neuropathies. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Information on sonographic comparison of an axonal subtype (acute motor [and sensory] axonal neuropathy [AMAN and AMSAN]) and a demyelinating subtype (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy [AIDP]) has been sparse.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sonography of peripheral nerves and cervical nerve roots were prospectively recorded in patients with GBS who were within three weeks of disease onset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients with AIDP and nine with AMAN (n=6)/AMSAN (n=3) were enrolled. The patients with AIDP showed evidence of greater degrees of demyelination (e.g., slower conduction velocities and increased distal latencies) than those with AMAN/AMSAN. The patients with AIDP tended to show enlarged nerves in the proximal segments and in the cervical roots, whereas the patients with AMAN/AMSAN had greater enlargement in the distal neve segment, especially in the median nerve (P = 0.03; Wrist-axilla cross-sectional ratio).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this small study, two subtypes of GBS showed different patterns of involvement that might reflect different pathomechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan. Electronic address: hnodera@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nodera
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maruyama-Saladini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshimitsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimatani
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaji
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000276:immunology; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013018:Sound Spectrography / Q000379:methods*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D005732:Gangliosides
keywords: AMAN; Demyelination; Guillain-Barré syndrome; Nerve root; Sonography