GBS Quiz
Reviewed By:
Benjamin Kummer, MD (Neurology)
Dr Kummer is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), with joint appointment in Digital and Technology Partners (DTP) at the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) as Director of Clinical Informatics in Neurology. As a triple-board certified practicing stroke neurologist and informaticist, he has successfully improved clinical operations at the point of care by acting as a central liaison between clinical neurology faculty and DTP teams to implement targeted EHR configuration changes and workflows, as well as providing subject matter expertise on health information technology projects across MSHS. | Dr Kummer also has several years’ experience building and implementing several informatics tools, presenting scientific posters, and generating a body of peer-reviewed work in “clinical neuro-informatics” – i.e., the intersection of clinical neurology, digital health, and informatics – much of which is centered on digital/tele-health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He has spearheaded the Clinical Neuro-Informatics Center in the Department of Neurology at ISMMS, a new research institute that seeks to establish the field of clinical neuro-informatics and disseminate knowledge to the neurological community on the effects and benefits of clinical informatics tools at the point of care.
Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)
Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.
Please choose the symptom you are most concerned about.
It will help us optimize further questions for you.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Find another symptom
How Ubie can help you
With an easy 3-min questionnaire, Ubie's AI-powered system will generate a free report on possible causes.
Trained and reviewed by 50+ doctors, our AI Symptom Checker utilizes data from 1,500+ medical centers
Questions are customized to your situation and symptoms
GBS as well as similar diseases can be checked at the same time.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔︎ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
Numbness
Hand tingling
Trouble standing
Off balance
The left half of the body is numb
Cannot stand up
Poor coordination
Just 3 minutes.
Developed by doctors.
Learn more about GBS
Content updated on Nov 7, 2023
Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a rare nerve disorder where a person's own immune system attacks their nerves. GBS can cause symptoms ranging from mild (arm/leg numbness or weakness) to severe and life-threatening (inability to breathe, abnormal heart rhythm, very high/low blood pressure). The prognosis is generally good. Over half of people fully recover and 80% can walk independently at 1 year. However, a minority of people may have permanent nerve damage or need a ventilator to breathe, and the overall death rate ranges from 3% to 7%.
Common cold or stomach flu symptoms before the fever appeared
Numbness or abnormal sensation
Weakness on one side of the body
Difficulty standing up from sitting position
Hands and legs became clumsy - I cannot do fine work with them
Unable to move my face
Numbness of the face or mouth
Numbness or tingling in the toes
Your doctor may ask these questions to diagnose GBS
Did you experience any common cold or stomach flu symptoms before your current fever appeared?
Do you feel any numbness or change in sensation?
Are you unable to move the left or right side of your body?
Do you have difficulty in getting up from a chair on your own?
Do you feel that it is harder to move your limbs or that you are more clumsy recently?
There is no known cure for GBS, but treatment can relieve symptoms and reduce the duration of the condition. Treatment consists of immunoglobulin injections, which give the body the antibodies needed to fight diseases, and plasma exchange, which removes harmful antibodies from the blood. Rarely, intubation and ventilator support is necessary if the person's diaphragm is affected and they cannot breathe on their own.
View the symptoms of GBS
Diseases related to GBS
References
Shahrizaila N, Lehmann HC, Kuwabara S. Guillain-Barré syndrome. The lancet. 2021 Mar 27;397(10280):1214-28.
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(21)00517-1/fulltext
Chevret S, Hughes RA, Annane D. Plasma exchange for Guillain-Barré syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Feb 27;2(2):CD001798. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001798.pub3. PMID: 28241090; PMCID: PMC6464100.
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001798.pub3/full
Mendell JR, Kissel JT, Cornblath DR. Diagnosis and management of peripheral nerve disorders. Oxford University Press; 2001 Mar 8.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NYURDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Kissel+JT,+Cornblath+DR,+Mendell+JR.+Guillain-Barre+syndrome.+In:+Diagnosis+and+Management+of+Peripheral+Nerve+Disorders,+Oxford+University+Press,+New+York+2001.&ots=-Lb1YFY8gX&sig=fHj2OTuud63Icwd4IT_-yvOAlys#v=onepage&q&f=false
Lawn ND, Wijdicks EF. Fatal Guillain-Barré syndrome. Neurology. 1999 Feb;52(3):635-8. doi: 10.1212/wnl.52.3.635. PMID: 10025803.
https://n.neurology.org/content/52/3/635.long
User testimonials
Reviewed By:
Benjamin Kummer, MD (Neurology)
Dr Kummer is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), with joint appointment in Digital and Technology Partners (DTP) at the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) as Director of Clinical Informatics in Neurology. As a triple-board certified practicing stroke neurologist and informaticist, he has successfully improved clinical operations at the point of care by acting as a central liaison between clinical neurology faculty and DTP teams to implement targeted EHR configuration changes and workflows, as well as providing subject matter expertise on health information technology projects across MSHS. | Dr Kummer also has several years’ experience building and implementing several informatics tools, presenting scientific posters, and generating a body of peer-reviewed work in “clinical neuro-informatics” – i.e., the intersection of clinical neurology, digital health, and informatics – much of which is centered on digital/tele-health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He has spearheaded the Clinical Neuro-Informatics Center in the Department of Neurology at ISMMS, a new research institute that seeks to establish the field of clinical neuro-informatics and disseminate knowledge to the neurological community on the effects and benefits of clinical informatics tools at the point of care.
Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)
Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.
Just 3 minutes.
Developed by doctors.
Ubie is supervised by 50+ medical experts worldwide
Dale Mueller, MD
Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vascular surgery
Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Associates