Acute axonal form of Guillain-Barre syndrome in a multiple sclerosis patient: chance association or linked disorders?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by inflammation, demyelination and gliosis, involving the central nervous system (CNS) and commonly sparing t he peripheral nervous system (PNS). Coexistence of CNS and PNS chronic demy elination has been rarely demonstrated in chronic inflammatory demyelinatin g polyradiculoneuropathies (CIDP) and in MS, but the occurrence of acute po lyradiculoneuropathy in a patient with MS is even more unusual. We describe the case of a woman with relapsing-remitting MS who presented with an acut e severe tetraparesis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination together with neurophysiological data and sural nerve biopsy study demonstrated an axonal form of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), It remains unresolved if the associ ation of an axonal form of GBS and MS is fortuitous or, on the contrary, is indicative of the coexistence in some individuals of common pathogenetic m echanisms.