The concept of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) largely changed in the 1990s, because acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), an axonal subtype of GBS, was recognized. Neurophysiological, pathological and immunological observations have shown that GBS is currently divided into two major subtypes, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP; a classical demyelinating form) and AMAN.1

Before recognition of AMAN, the eponym GBS has been used interchangeably with AIDP, and it has been believed that in Europe and North America, GBS is usually caused by AIDP, which accounts for >90% of GBS cases.1 In contrast, a considerable number of GBS patients have AMAN in East Asia such as …