Advances in Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome and Immune Neuropathies

Abstract

The focus of this discussion is a field within neurology that until recently has been relatively neglected, namely the immune peripheral nerve diseases. For perhaps 120 years, starting with the great discoveries about the central nervous system by Charcot and the classical neurologists, the peripheral nervous system was comparatively overlooked. The reasons for reviewing this topic at this time are twofold. First, there has been a virtual explosion of knowledge about this group of illnesses in the last decade and second, the components of this knowledge have come from diverse fields including the areas of biochemistry, pathology, immunology, and physiology, each contributing a small piece to the understanding of what has turned out to be a sizable group of illnesses. Lending a perspective to some of the recent advances in the field of peripheral neuropathies is a worthwhile endeavor.