Irritable bowel syndrome is the most frequent functional disorder of the digestive system. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome have motor disorders not only in the colon, but also in other parts of the digestive tract such as the oesophagus and small intestine; however, it is not known whether the stomach ...

A 44 year old female presented with fever, muscle aches, rash and a low platelet count. IgM antibody to dengue virus was positive. Two weeks later she developed a flaccid areflexic quadriparesis. Nerve conduction studies showed a predominantly demyelitinating sensory motor polyneuropathy consistent with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Despite the relatively common ...

Constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome are commonly encountered in the primary care practice. Most episodes of constipation and diarrhea are benign and self-limited. Patients with chronic constipation should undergo a screening evaluation to exclude organic disease, after which most can be managed successfully with dietary modification and fiber supplementation. ...

A 20-month-old male presented with an acute clinical syndrome resembling poliomyelitis, characterized by a flaccid monoplegia, areflexia of the involved limb, and preserved sensation. Electrophysiologic studies supported a neuronopathic localization involving the anterior horn cells. Although laboratory evidence for a poliovirus infection was absent, serologic and polymerase chain reaction studies ...

Campylobacter curvus and Campylobacter upsaliensis were isolated from stools of patients with Guillain-Barré (GBS) or Fisher's (FS) syndromes. Whether these microorganisms are pathogens of antecedent diarrhea in GBS and FS is not clear, therefore, we made a serological examination. There were no differences in antibody titer to these organisms among ...

A 57-year-old woman developed rapidly progressive, symmetric, extremity weakness, facial diplegia, ophthalmoplegia, respiratory insufficiency, and sensory ataxia over a 3-week period. Electrodiagnostic studies were performed on days 6, 13, and 50 following the onset of weakness. Motor nerve conduction abnormalities were the predominant findings. Prolonged motor distal latencies, prolonged or ...

Guillain-Barré syndrome following anaesthesia or surgery is rare. Diagnosis is often delayed, which may lead to an increase in morbidity. There is now good evidence that early diagnosis and treatment reduces this morbidity. The two cases highlight the difficulties with diagnosis in the perioperative period and further discuss the aetiology, ...

"Bowel bypass syndrome without bowel bypass" is an entity in which patients have the same clinical presentation as patients with bowel bypass syndrome, but with other gastrointestinal disorders. We present two cases of this disorder, one who responded to metronidazole and ciprofloxacin, and the other who responded to prednisone and ...

Up to 35% of the world population suffer from functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGD), accounting for about 40% of gastroenterologic and 12% of primary care practice. Society incurs high costs from FGD morbidity in terms of medical workups and absenteeism from work. FGD are characterized by chronic and recurrent symptoms of ...

Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common diseases in gastroenterology clinics. Bowel movement is controlled by many factors such as gastrointestinal hormones and gut brain system, which are too complicated to evaluate by clinical investigation. Therefore, IBS is diagnosed on the basis of the Rome diagnostic criteria, after ...

A 24-year-old woman with previously known pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS) presented with severe pain in the neck and shoulders followed by the classical symptoms and signs of bilateral brachial neuritis. At the same time, there was a recurrence of the PTCS which had been in remission for more than one-and-a-half ...

OBJECTIVES: Irritable bowel syndrome is inconsistently defined in international literature. Consequently, the resulting differences in study populations may impede any general application of results from one study to another. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consistency of various definitions of irritable bowel syndrome. DESIGN: By means of ...

Anti-GQ1b antibodies were assayed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sera from patients with non-neurological disorders (N = 20), and with various neurological disorders (N = 59), including nine cases of Miller Fisher syndrome, 16 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and one case of acute post-infectious ophthalmoparesis. Such antibodies were found ...

Guillain-Barré, syndrome is the most common paralytic illness among healthy adults. With modern critical care, the mortality has fallen although prolonged hospitalisation and significant morbidity are common. Plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin have only recently been shown to be equally efficacious; the combination of plasma exchange plus intravenous immunoglobulin does ...

To investigate the usefulness of the Composite Autonomic Scoring Scale (CASS) as an indication for autonomic dysfunction with Guillain-Barré syndrome, we quantitated autonomic deficits on follow-up using CASS in a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome who did not have any autonomic symptoms and had good clinical recovery. Using the CASS we ...

We studied the relation between pregnancy and Guillain-Barré syndrome in the Swedish female population ages 15-49 years during the period 1978-1993. Person-based information from the national Hospital In-patient Registry on patients discharged with a diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome was linked to data on pregnancy and delivery from the Swedish Medical ...

During the last 15 years new information about clinical, electrophysiological, immunological and histopathological features of acute and chronic inflammatory neuropathies have emerged. Thus, the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is no longer considered a simple entity. Subtypes of the disorder besides the typical predominant motor manifestation, are recognized, i.e. a cranial nerve ...

Crow-Fukase or POEMS syndrome of polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein, and skin changes is a rare multisystem disorder of obscure pathogenesis that is associated with microangiopathy, neovascularization, and accelerated vasopermeability. We examined the levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor (VEGF) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from ...

The purpose of this article is to acknowledge the success of using intravenous immunoglobulins in children with Guillain-Barré syndrome and to review the literature. A 17-year-old African-American young lady with Guillain-Barré syndrome of 11-days duration underwent intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. Within 6 days, the patient was ambulating and was showing significant ...

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is recognized clinically by the presence of acute, rapidly progressive weakness, areflexia, and albuminocytological dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid. Although GBS was initially considered to be primarily an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), several other subtypes have been recognized: acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy ...

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus causes immune-mediated disorders such as acute rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis. We describe a second patient with Fisher's syndrome (FS) from whom beta-hemolytic streptococcus was isolated. We performed a study of the antecedent pharyngeal symptoms in FS and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Sore throat was statistically more frequent ...

BACKGROUND: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) >60 mg/dl has been reported to occur commonly in patient's with severe Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome. AIMS: To find out the cause for this high BUN we compared the renal function tests of 30 consecutive cases with severe Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome to those of 30 controls. RESULTS: Acute ...

This article reviews the current literature on the role of diet and trophic factors in the treatment of short-bowel syndrome, focusing on both recent experimental and clinical advances over the past year. The abundance of experimental animal data would suggest that various growth factors and luminal nutrients are of benefit ...

PURPOSE: We determine whether functional bladder and/or bowel disorders influence the natural history or treatment of children with primary vesicoureteral reflux. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed 143 children with primary vesicoureteral reflux that stopped spontaneously or was surgically corrected for functional bowel and/or bladder disorders, including bladder instability, constipation and ...

A patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome is reported on who responded favourably to a short course treatment with the novel immunosuppressant sodium fusidate (Fucidin), given at a daily dose of 1.5 g for one week. Along with prompt and clear cut clinical improvement, treatment with Fucidin was associated with a rapid ...

1. Small bowel dysmotility may be one of the clinical manifestations in Occidental patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Here we studied the characteristics of small bowel motility in Oriental patients with irritable bowel syndrome and identified the factors responsible for disturbed small bowel motility. 2. We enrolled 90 patients with ...

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence rate of Guillain-Barré syndrome variants in an unselected population and to describe their clinical features and prognosis. METHODS: A two year prospective multicentre study on the incidence and prognosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome was performed in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy (3,909,512 inhabitants). A surveillance system was instituted ...

The highly complex and multiple mechanisms responsible for the development of demyelinating neuropathies are reviewed, in particular Guillain-Barré syndrome and its variant Miller Fisher syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein neuropathy, as well as experimental models. Recent investigations into the role of auto antibodies against myelin ...

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is the commonest cause of acute flaccid paralysis worldwide. Recent pathological and electrodiagnostic studies indicated that there are different patterns within this syndrome. The demyelinating pattern predominates in North America and Europe, whereas axonal variants of GBS occur more frequently in Northern China. Infection with Campylobacter jejuni ...

The patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis showed axonal degeneration and had IgG anti-GM1 antibody. The most frequently isolated C. jejuni from the patients was specific serotype of Penner's 19 in Japan. In the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in C. jejuni of this serotype, the same oligosaccharide structure ...

Fructose malabsorption is characterized by the inability to absorb fructose efficiently. As a consequence fructose reaches the colon were it is broken down by bacteria to short fatty acids, CO2 and H2. Bloating, cramps, osmotic diarrhea and other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are the consequence and can be seen ...

Colonic volvulus is a rare complication of celiac disease. A case is reported of a 46-year-old man with a long-standing history of diarrhea and abdominal distention with a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. After an elective inguinal hernia repair, a cecal volvulus and an ulcerative jejunoileitis developed in the patient ...

A previously unrecognized sequelum of infection with Campylobacter jejuni, a common cause of gastroenteritis, is Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is the most common cause of acute neuromuscular paralysis; 30% to 40% of cases are preceded by C. jejuni infection. Both patient and bacterial characteristics likely play a role in the ...

We delineated the place of cranial nerve variants within the concept of clinically defined Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). In the ophthalmoplegic variant (n = 7) the oculomotor nerves were early involved. In a lower cranial nerve variant (n = 9) the cranial nerves IX, X, and XI were early involved. During ...

We report a case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, associated at its presentation with thrombocytopenia, in a 50-year-old woman. She was treated with immunoglobulin, and short-term corticosteroids for thrombocytopenia. In spite of the severe presentation we observed a very good and rapid recovery, which could have been ...

Hepatitis C is frequently associated with immune-mediated diseases, such as cryoglobulinemia. Guillain-Barré syndrome is an acute demyelinating neuropathy of probable immune pathogenesis. We describe two patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and associated chronic hepatitis C, the second one previously treated with interferon. The link between both conditions may be hepatitis C ...

Patients with exposure to Pfiesteria toxin have developed an illness, Pfiesteria-human illness syndrome, characterized by skin lesions, headache, myalgias, conjunctival irritation, bronchospasm, abdominal pain, secretory diarrhea, recent memory loss, and difficulties with number sequencing. Not all patients demonstrated all features of the syndrome. The natural history of Pfiesteria-human illness syndrome ...

The sonographic findings in a fatal case of congenital short-bowel syndrome are reported. Sonography at 11 weeks of gestation showed a 11 x 6 mm hyperechoic mass interpreted to be a midgut umbilical hernia. A repeat scan 2 weeks later showed an intact anterior abdominal wall, no umbilical herniation, and ...

The case history is described of a worker who presented with a history suggestive of reactive airways dysfunction syndrome which occurred after an acute high level inhalation of diphenylmethane diisocyanate. Further exposure at work, at a time when concentrations of isocyanates were no longer "irritant", suggested occupational asthma; this diagnosis ...

The risk factors for treatment related clinical fluctuations, relapses occurring after initial therapeutic induced stabilisation or improvement, were evaluated in a group of 172 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Clinical, laboratory, and electrodiagnostic features of all 16 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome with treatment related fluctuations, of whom 13 were retreated, were ...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a cluster of abdominal complaints frequently encountered in the primary setting. It is the most common gastrointestinal complaint seen in primary practice and accounts for 50% of referrals to gastroenterologists. Although the pathology of the disease currently is unclear, the diagnosis is not one of ...

Some patients developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after being given bovine gangliosides. Patients with GBS subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis frequently have IgG antibody to GM1 ganglioside. Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS), a variant of GBS, is associated with IgG antibody to GQ1b ganglioside. The existence of molecular mimicry between GM1 and ...

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether there is a risk that tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccines could cause Guillain-Barré syndrome and, if so, how large the risk is. METHODS: This study was based on previous active surveillance epidemiological studies of Guillain-Barré syndrome and vaccination history. RESULTS: A background rate of 0.3 cases of Guillain-Barré ...

In this prospective case controlled study 16 premenopausal women with documented irritable bowel syndrome were recruited from the gastroenterology clinic and 16 premenopausal controls without symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome were recruited from the gynaecology clinic. All women answered a standardised bowel and urinary symptom questionnaire and underwent twin channel ...

Guillain-Barré syndrome can very rarely present with acute quadripares and cranial nerve involvement resembling a locked-in state. We describe a very unusual case of fulminant neuropathy in a child who was previously exposed to vincristine. The clinical picture resembled brain death; however, electrodiagnostic studies led to the diagnosis of a ...

n-Hexane neuropathy has been described after glue sniffing and industrial exposure. Onset may be subacute and reminiscent of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Although the primary pathology is axonal, electrophysiologic evaluation is frequently most remarkable for conduction slowing. We describe a patient with a severe subacute neuropathy following n-hexane exposure via glue sniffing. ...

Immunoadsorption therapy (IAT) using the tryptophan column (TR:TR-350, Asahi Medical Co., Tokyo, Japan) is used for patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome or Fisher's syndrome. Recently, a modified tryptophan column (modified TR:TR-350S, Asahi) was developed to reduce adsorption of fibrinogens. However, it is not clear whether the new column can effectively adsorb ...

The first case reports of human illness caused by exposure to Pfiesteria piscicida toxin(s) acquired outside of a laboratory are reported. Though Pfiesteria, a toxin-forming dinoflagellate, is responsible for killing billions of fish in estuaries in North Carolina, its role in human illness has remained controversial, in part due to ...

To assess autonomic dysfunction, skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA) of four patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome was microneurographically studied in the acute and remission phase. Autonomic symptoms such as sinus tachycardia, palmar hyperhidrosis, hypertension, and orthostatic hypotension were present in the acute phase, but all subsided during remission. Basal resting SSNA ...

BACKGROUND: Cisapride has been reported to improve symptoms in patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. AIM: To compare the effects of a 24-h oral dose regimen of cisapride on interdigestive and post-prandial small bowel motor activity in irritable bowel syndrome patients with predominant constipation, irritable bowel syndrome patients with predominant ...