We studied relationships between anti-ganglioside antibodies and the clinical characteristics of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) using multivariate analysis. Serum anti-ganglioside antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 42 GBS patients and 47 controls. Relationships between antibodies and 15 clinical characteristics were analyzed using a logistic model. Anti-GM1 antibodies were significantly infrequent in patients with objective sensory disturbance (immunoglobulin G (IgG), p < 0.05, odds ratio = 0.094; immunoglobulin M (IgM), p < 0.01, odds ratio = 0.032) and frequent in patients with prodromal diarrhea (IgG, p < 0.05, odds ratio = 5.759; IgM, p < 0.05, odds ratio = 16.28). The combination of anti-GM1 and anti-GD1b antibodies was frequent in patients with prodromal diarrhea (IgG, p < 0.01, odds ratio = 9.667; IgM, p < 0.01, odds ratio = 14.50). IgG anti-GQ1b antibodies were extremely frequent in patients with ophthalmoplegia (p < 0.01, odds ratio = 102.3), and infrequent in patients with objective sensory disturbance (p < 0.05, odds ratio = 0.023).
(Internal Medicine 36: 607-612, 1997)