Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in Guillain-Barré syndrome

Adam Chen; Jennifer Kim; Galen Henderson; Aaron Berkowitz

doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2014.11.004

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in Guillain-Barré syndrome

J Clin Neurosci. 2015 May;22(5):914-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2014.11.004. Epub 2015 Mar 20.

Authors

Adam Chen¹, Jennifer Kim², Galen Henderson², Aaron Berkowitz²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: achen15@partners.org.
² Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

PMID: 25800144
DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2014.11.004

Abstract

Autonomic dysfunction is a well-known complication of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and may manifest as hemodynamic fluctuations. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is commonly associated with acute hypertension, but is rarely reported to occur in association with GBS. We describe a patient with GBS who developed PRES in the setting of autonomic dysfunction and review the clinical features of all 12 previously reported patients with co-occurrence of GBS and PRES. Almost all cases have occurred in women over the age of 55, raising the possibility of increased sensitivity to dysautonomia in this patient group.

Keywords: Autonomic nervous system diseases; Guillain-Barré syndrome; Posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome.

Publication types

Case Reports
Review

MeSH terms

Female
Guillain-Barre Syndrome / complications*
Guillain-Barre Syndrome / diagnosis*
Humans
Hypertension / diagnosis
Hypertension / etiology
Middle Aged
Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome / diagnosis*
Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome / etiology*