Immunoglobulin for Gullain-Barre Syndrome
Guillain-Barr syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The onset can be very rapid or take few days to few weeks. Symptoms are weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. Sometimes, the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body and progress to paralysis. There is no known cure for Guillain-Barr syndrome, but therapies can lessen the severity of the illness and accelerate the recovery in most patients. Often life support is required until the patient begins to recover. As such, any treatment that can speed recovery is valuable. Currently, plasmapheresis and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are most often used.
Both plasma exchange (PE) therapy and intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) have proven effective for Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS). They are both thought todecrease autoantibody production and increase removal of immune complexes. Both have been shown to shorten recovery time by as much as 50%. IVIG is easier to administer and has fewer complications than PE. and is usually the initial treatment.
Randomized trials in severe disease show that IVIG started within 4 weeks from onset hastens recovery as much as plasma exchange. Combination therapy of both, does not improve outcomes or shortened illness duration over one or the other.
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