Fulminant Guillain-Barré Syndrome after Campylobacter jejuni Enteritis and Monospecific Anti-GTla IgG Antibody

Abstract

A 21-year-old man developed rapid progression of tetraplegia, bulbar palsy, and respiratory paralysis after Campylobacter jejuni enteritis. Based on the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, he received plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin. Serum anti-GT1a IgG antibody which lacked cross-reactivity with GQ1b was detected. Four months after the onset, the patient still had severe muscle weakness of the lower limbs. This case suggests that anti-GT1a IgG antibody can be associated with severe paralysis in Guillain-Barré syndrome after C. jejuni enteritis.
(Internal Medicine 41: 889-891, 2002)