TY - JOUR T1 - Guillain–Barré syndrome subtypes related to <em>Campylobacter</em> infection JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery &amp; Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 300 LP - 305 DO - 10.1136/jnnp.2010.226639 VL - 82 IS - 3 AU - Judith Drenthen AU - Nobuhiro Yuki AU - Jan Meulstee AU - Ellen M Maathuis AU - Pieter A van Doorn AU - Gerhard H Visser AU - Joleen H Blok AU - Bart C Jacobs Y1 - 2011/03/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/82/3/300.abstract N2 - Background In Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), the diversity in electrophysiological subtypes is unexplained but may be determined by geographical factors and preceding infections. Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) is a frequent GBS variant in Japan and one study proposed that in Japan, Campylobacter jejuni infections exclusively elicit AMAN. In The Netherlands C jejuni is the predominant type of preceding infection yet AMAN is rare. This may indicate that not all Dutch GBS patients with C jejuni infections have AMAN.Objective To determine if GBS patients with a preceding C jejuni infection in The Netherlands exclusively have AMAN.Methods Retrospective analysis of preceding infections in relation to serial electrophysiology and clinical data from 123 GBS patients. C jejuni related cases were defined as having preceding diarrhoea and positive C jejuni serology. Electrophysiological characteristics in C jejuni related cases were compared with those in viral related GBS patients. In addition, eight GBS patients from another cohort with positive stool cultures for C jejuni were analysed.Results 17 (14%) of 123 patients had C jejuni related GBS. C jejuni patients had lower motor and higher sensory action potentials compared with viral related cases. Nine (53%) C jejuni patients had either AMAN or inexcitable nerves. However, three (18%) patients fulfilled the criteria for acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP). Also, two (25%) of eight additional patients with a C jejuni positive stool sample had AIDP.Conclusion In The Netherlands, C jejuni infections are strongly, but not exclusively, associated with axonal GBS. Some patients with these infections fulfil current criteria for demyelination. ER -