No association between COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome: study medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A large epidemiologic study in the United Kingdom today finds no association between COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune condition linked to other bacterial and viral infections.
GBS is a rare neurologic disease that attacks the peripheral nervous system typically the feet, hands, and limbs causing numbness, weakness, pain, and occasionally, fatal paralysis or permanent neurological effects. The most common trigger for GBS is infection with
Campylobacter jejuni, a bacterial strain that causes gastroenteritis, or infection of the digestive tract.
Many other infections can also trigger GBS, leading to concerns about a possible surge in GBS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Epidemiologic studies have confirmed a causal relationship between recent Zika virus epidemics and a corresponding sharp rise in GBS cases. Small international studies have suggested an association between infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and incre