Medical Questions » Syndrome Questions » Question No. 972
| Question: | My mother is paralysed from the waist down with Guillain-Barre syndrome. She has diarrhoea, pins and needles and feels cold. Will her condition ever improve? |
| Answer: | The Guillain-Barre syndrome is fortunately tare, and often follows a stress to the body such as an infection, surgery, vaccination or injury. Its exact cause is unknown.
The symptoms vary significantly from one patient to another, but include weakness of the legs and/or arms, paralysis of some facial muscles to cause grimacing, pain in various nerves, pins and needles sensation, poor control of bladder and bowel and abnormalities in heart rhythm and breathing.
The disease is difficult to diagnose, as there are no specific tests that will confirm its presence.
It is uncommon for patients to die from the condition, and most make a good recovery over many months, but as many as 20% are left with some long-term disability.
Numerous treatments have been tried, but none are generally successful in all patients. The main form of care is good nursing in hospital during the worst stages, then at home for the months that recovery will take. Physiotherapy is often beneficial in maintaining limb movement.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict the outcome in any individual, but patience may be rewarded with recovery, often after nearly all hope has gone.
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