Anti-Ganglioside Antibodies and Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Kim, Jong Kuk

Review article

Korean Journal of Neuromuscular Disorders 2010;2(1):14-20.

Jong Kuk Kim

Department of Neurology, Dong-A University Medical Center, Busan, Korea

항-강글리오시드 항체와 Guillain-Barre 증후군

김종국

동아대학교 의료원 신경과

Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a representative form of acute post-infectious immune mediated neuropathies. Anti-ganglioside antibodies play a core pathogenic role in the pathophysiology of major subtypes of GBS and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS). Nerve injury mediated by anti-ganglioside antibodies is known to be associated with disruption of structural stability at node of Ranvier. It results in damage of voltage-gated sodium channel and conduction failure. Some types of antibodies such as GM1, GD1a, GalNAc-GD1a and GM1b are associated with pure motor variant of GBS. Anti-GQ1b antibody is found from MFS or GBS with ophthalmoplegia and anti-GT1a antibody is highly associated with bulbar palsy though they can cross react with each other. As in the study from China and Japan, anti-ganglioside antibodies are frequent in Korean GBS patients and correlated well with clinical manifestations.