OPHTHALMOPLEGIC AND LOWER CRANIAL NERVE VARIANTS MERGE INTO EACH OTHER AND INTO CLASSICAL GUILLAIN-BARRE-SYNDROME

We delineated the place of cranial nerve variants within the concept o f clinically defined Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), In the ophthalmopl egic variant (n = 7) the oculomotor nerves were early involved, In a l ower cranial nerve variant (n = 9) the cranial nerves IX, X, and XI we re early involved. During progression considerable overlap occurred be tween these two variants, but also with the classically ascending vari ant of clinically defined GBS. These findings indicate common immune m echanisms in all GBS variants. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.