According to the latest corona virus update, the SARS-CoV-2 could trigger rare autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. Many people who become infected with the virus experience mild or no symptoms. In some cases, however, the disease is severe. In addition, researchers have frequently identified neurological disorders in COVID-19. As researchers recently reported, the novel pathogen can also trigger the dreaded syndrome.
Is there a danger after this corona virus update?
As explained on the Austrian health portal “Gesundheit.gv.at”, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a very rare autoimmune disease. The immune system attacks the peripheral nerve cells of the body. This happens outside of the brain and spine. Thus immune cells destroy their isolating myelin sheath. The disease, also known as “acute idiopathic polyneuritis”, could also result from the new coronavirus. Scientists fear that such an infection could cause severe neurological complications from COVID-19 in children, too.
According to a recent announcement by the German Society for Neurology (DGN), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) could already be associated with COVID-19. Shortly thereafter, two further publications from Europe followed in the specialist journals “New England Journal of Medicine” and “Neurology”, which describe a GBS and a GBS variant in COVID-19 patients. The GBS often arises as a result of infections, for example after a bacterial intestinal infection or an infection with the cytomegalovirus (ZMV).
The corona virus is now also one of the causative agents. While infection-associated GBS often takes two to four weeks to develop, SARS-CoV-2 infection developed this serious neurological complication after only five to ten days.
The respiratory muscles could be affected
As the DGN explains, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a serious neurological disorder. The myelin sheath of the peripheral nerves is damaged by an excessive autoimmune reaction, often as a result of infections, so that the nerve fibers can no longer transmit stimuli. Autoantibodies against components of the nerve membranes (gangliosides) in the blood are often detectable in GBS. The consequences are paralysis, which usually begins on both sides in the legs and then also affects the arms and face. In some patients, this could even affect the respiratory muscles, which means that doctors then have to ventilate them.
According to the DGN, those affected either receive high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins or undergo plasmapheresis. This is an extracorporeal blood purification that filters out the autoantibodies that trigger this disease. The symptoms often take many weeks to resolve, and some patients have permanent neurological symptoms.
Symptoms in GBS according to the Coronavirus Update
It is known that around three quarters of all GBS cases are due to infections, whether due to bacterial inflammation of the intestine with Campylobacter bacteria or an upper respiratory tract infection with the cytomegalovirus or other viruses. SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS cases have now been reported for the first time in the magazines mentioned. The first case report of a GBS presumably caused by coronavirus relates to a 61-year-old woman from China. She was admitted to the clinic with paralysis of the lower extremities. However, the patient had no respiratory symptoms, fever, or diarrhea. Her paralysis spread over the next three days.
According to the coronavirus update, medical doctors have carried out the therapy of women with immunoglobulins. On the eighth day, the patient developed cough, fever and showed signs of viral pneumonia in the breast. The SARS-CoV-19 throat swab was positive. For this reason, the authors discuss an association with GBS. However, since the classic COVID-19 symptoms did not appear until a week after the onset of GBS, medical professionals must also consider the possibility of incidental occurrence of both diseases. However, this post only contains general information that you should not use for self-diagnosis or treatment.
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