An Unusual Case of Recurrent Guillain-Barre Syndrome of a Different Subtype Five Years after Initial Diagnosis

Copyright © 2013 M. Dy et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. We present a case of a previously healthy 17-year-old girl with history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome 5 years after initial presentation who presented with bilateral lower extremity pain, worsening dysphagia, subsequent weakness, and decreased reflexes. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis had a prominent lymphocytic pleocytosis. MRI of spine showed significant anterior nerve root enhancement. Electromyogram demonstrated a mild axonal greater than demyelinating motor polyneuropathy and intact sensory responses, with no evidence of conduction block or temporal dispersion, unlike her first presentation that revealed a demyelinating polyneuropathy. The patient recovered with mild subjective weakness following 5 days of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. This case represents a recurrence of a predominantly motor variant polyradiculoneuropathy distinct from the initial presentation with a lymphocytic predominant CSF pleocytosis, nerve root enhancement on MRI spine, and rapid recovery following treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. 1