Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions
By Kenneth Kee
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About this ebook
Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system
Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare autoimmune progressive disease with relatively symmetrical weakness of 2 or more limbs due to neuropathy, areflexia and mild sensory symptoms of not more than 4 weeks duration.
Causes are:
1. A nonspecific respiratory or gastrointestinal viral illness
2. Vaccination (rarely)
3. Extreme exposure to cold
The result of the antibodies attack on the peripheral nerves is inflammation of myelin and blockage of nerve conduction resulting in muscle paralysis with sensory or autonomic deficits.
The first symptoms of this disorder are varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs.
In many cases the symmetrical weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body.
These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and when severe the person is almost totally paralyzed.
Such an individual is often put on a ventilator to assist with breathing and is watched closely for problems such as an abnormal heart beat, infections, blood clots, and high or low blood pressure.
Absence of fever is one of the sign of Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Recovery usually begins 2-4 weeks after progression of disease stops
The diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome involve
1. History of a rapid onset and progression of ascending motor weakness, areflexia and the absence of fever.
2. Physical and neurological examinations for peripheral neurological deficit.
3. Cerebrospinal fluid examination-
a. An elevated protein level (100 - 1000 mg/dL)
b. Absent pleocytosis (increased cell count)
4. Electromyography studies and nerve conduction studies may show prolonged distal latencies, conduction slowing, nerve conduction blockage suggestive of demyelization.
5. Computed tomography or MRI may show actual demyelization of the nerve.
There is no known cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The most critical part of the treatment for this syndrome consists of keeping the patient's body functioning during recovery of the nervous system.
This can sometimes require placing the patient on mechanical ventilatory assistance, a heart monitor, or other machines that assist body function.
1. Hospitalization and early intubation with a respirator on standby in case of difficulty in respiration
2. Treatment of the underlying cause is started as soon as possible:
Currently, plasma exchange (also called plasmapheresis) and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are used.
Both of them are equally effective but immunoglobulin is easier to administer.
a. High dose intravenous immune globulin, which temporarily modifies the immune system and provides the body with normal antibodies from donated blood
In high-dose immunoglobulin therapy, doctors give intravenous injections of the proteins that, in small quantities, the immune system uses naturally to attack invading organisms.
Giving high doses of these immunoglobulins, derived from a pool of thousands of normal donors, to Guillain-Barre patients can lessen the immune attack on the nervous system.
b. Plasmapheresis in which abnormal antibodies are removed from the blood.
Plasmapheresis seems to reduce the severity and duration of the Guillain-Barre episode
3. Rehabilitation is started after the patient is stable and will focus on improving activities of daily living functions such as brushing teeth, washing and getting dressed.
4. Physiotherapy to strengthen muscles
5. Speech therapy for speech and swallowing
Patients sometimes need psychological counseling to help them adapt.
The recovery period may be as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Guillain Barre Syndrome
Chapter 2 Interesting Facts about Guillain Barre Syndrome
Kenneth Kee
Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"
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Guillain Barre Syndrome A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee
Guillain Barre
Syndrome
A
Simple
Guide
To
The Condition,
And
Related Conditions
By
Dr Kenneth Kee
M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)
Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)
Copyright Kenneth Kee 2013 Smashwords Edition
Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com
Dedication
This book is dedicated
To my wife Dorothy
And my children
Carolyn, Grace
And Kelvin
This book describes the Guillian Barr Syndrome and Related autoimmune Diseases such as Temporal Arteritis, SLE, Rheumatoid arthritis and Myasthenia gravis which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Introduction
Ode to Gullain Barre Syndrome
Gullain Barre Syndrome, you make me sad
Because of my paralysis, I wish I was dead
You start with varying degrees of weakness
In the legs, tingling sensations and numbness
Now you have spread to my arms and my upper body
I have also lost my reflexes and knee jerks already
I hope that you will not affect my cranial nerves or brain
Or else I cannot breathe or swallow, that will be insane
Loss of pain and temperature sensation may be present.
Deep aching pain in the weakened muscles I resent.
Autonomic dysfunction may occur such as tachycardia,
Bladder dysfunction, frequent urination and diarrhea
Hospitalization and intubation may be needed early
Injections of immnoglobilins is given intravenously
Plasma exchange is a method to remove the antibodies
Rehabilitation is started with the recovery of the body
-An original poem by Kenneth Kee
Interesting Tips about the Gullain Barre Syndrome
A Healthy Lifestyle
1. Take a well Balanced Diet
2. Rehabilitation is started after the patient is stable and will focus on improving activities of daily living functions such as brushing teeth, washing and getting dressed.
4. Physiotherapy to strengthen muscles
Speech therapy for speech and swallowing
Guillain-Barre syndrome patients face not only physical difficulties but emotionally painful periods as well.
It is often extremely difficult for patients to adjust to sudden paralysis and dependence on others for help with routine daily activities
Patients sometimes need psychological counseling to help them adapt
3. Keep bones and body strong
Bone marrow produces our blood
Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk, and dark green vegetables.
Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.
Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits
Zinc and other minerals are important to the body
4. Get enough rest and Sleep
Avoid stress and tension
5. Exercise and stay active.
It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.
One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a