No association between COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome
Neuroscientists at UCL have found no significant association between COVID-19 and the potentially paralysing and sometimes fatal neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Researchers say the findings, published in the journal Brain , along with a linked scientific commentary by UCL and other international experts, should provide the public with reassurance, as the UK s national coronavirus vaccination programme is rolled out.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare but serious autoimmune condition that attacks the peripheral nervous system, typically affecting the feet, hands and limbs, causing numbness, weakness and pain. While its exact cause is unknown, GBS often occurs after a gastroenteritis infection called Camplylobacter, with the immune system mistakenly attacking nerves rather than germs.