EXPRESSION OF SERUM ANTI-GANGLIOSIDE ANTIBODY IN PATIENTS WITH GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CLINICAL FEATURES

Ying Huang¹, Xuejun Fu¹, Han Luo², Qian Wang¹, Yi Guo¹, Qianhui Xu^{1, *}

¹Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, The Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, PR China - ²Department of Neurology, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, PR China

Introduction: In this study, we investigated the expression of serum anti-ganglioside antibodies in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and its relationship to clinical features.

Methods: A total of 104 patients with GBS were retrospectively studied and 49 patients who underwent anti-ganglioside antibody testing were analysed.

Results: Serum anti-ganglioside antibodies were detected in 67.3% of GBS patients. The average age of onset was 48.8+16.1 years for anti-ganglioside antibody positivity, and 35+16.1 years for antibody negativity (P<0.05). The expression ratio of anti-GM1 antibodies in acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) was 42.0% (P<0.05), and anti-GD1b antibodies in acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) were 25% (P<0.05). Anti-GQ1b antibodies were detected in 54.5% in ataxia (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The results suggest that the average age of onset was older in the anti-ganglioside positive patients than in the negative patients. Anti-GM1 antibodies were highly expressed in AIDP and anti-GD1b antibodies were significantly expressed. In addition, the anti-GM1 antibody negativity was significantly associated with cranial nerve palsy and the anti-GQ1b antibodies were significantly associated with ataxia.