Guillain-Barré syndrome might be triggered in COVID patients, study reveals

The list of repercussions caused by COVID has added another illness as a new study suggests possible links between the Coronavirus and the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). According to a report by Daily Mail, UK’s National Health Service has not accredited COVID with the GBS, however, analysing patterns in patients from different countries have raised questions. The issue was raised after reports emerged that those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine may develop this illness.

What is the GBS?

The Guillain-Barré syndrome is an auto-immune disease that attacks the nerve cells and disrupts the human immune system. It can be triggered by glandular fever or flu and can make the patients paralysed and leave them with immense pain. It is believed that the majority of patients suffering from GBS can fully recover, however, one in every five patients can be left with chronic complications and some even succumb. 

Does a correlation between COVID and GBS exist?

Despite the authors’ statement denying a strong link between COVID and GBS, a team from the University of Rotterdam have claimed that Coronavirus might trigger the syndrome in some infected people. Besides, the study published in the journal Brain analysed 49 GBS patients from nine countries. As per the British paper, these countries included China, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. 

The study subjects were primarily patients who had developed GBS between January and May of 2020. Observations found that out of the total, 22 per cent or 11 of the patients were infected with Coronavirus, and all were above 50 years of age with weakness in facial muscles. But even after these results, the researchers stated that despite the outbreak of coronavirus, the number of GBS patients was unconsiderable in 2020 while comparing the same months in 2019. According to Neurologist and the study’s lead author Dr Bart Jacobs, this research does present the possibility of covid causing GBS but determining the true association between the two still needs a deep-dive. 

The study reportedly emerged after statements of the European Union’s health watchdog which revealed that GBS might be triggered in rare cases in even those who are inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Earlier, the European Medicines Agency had announced recording 833 GBS cases after using 592million doses of the vaccine but had assured that less than one in 10,000 faced the risk of developing the syndrome.

(Image: AP)