Guillain-Barre syndrome: recovery patterns in demyelinating and axonal forms

We carried out an examination of 74 patients who have had, from 3 months to 36 years ago, Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS) with severe impairmenet of motor functions. The average follow-up period was 2.3 years. Fifty-eight subjects had acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), and the remaining 16 patients had axonal forms. In the structure of residual neurologic deficits of AIDP patients at all stages of early recovery period (follow-up period <1 year) and in late (>1 year) period sensory disorders and pain syndrome prevailed. The majority of AIDP patients (90%) began to walk with support after 1 month of onset, and occasionally (3%) six months later.
Patients with axonal forms could stand only after 6 months (88%) and later (12% patients – up to 12 months). After 1 year of onset, all AIDP patients walked unassisted, and most of them return to their job. Over the equal follow-up period every third patient with an axonal form remained dependent in their daily living activities. This confirms that GBS is a disease with a favorable prognosis: even in severe cases most patients resumed walking after half a year, regardless of the disease form. Axonal forms show lower recovery rate and greater severity of residual symptoms compared to AIDP, which affects quality of life in respective patients.