Rapidly progressive, predominantly motor Guillain-Barré syndrome with anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibodies

To investigate the presence of anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibodies in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and to determine the relation of anti-ganglioside antibodies with clinical features. The GBS is heterogeneous with regard to clinical manifestations, antecedent infections, and the presence and specificity of anti-ganglioside antibodies. Recently, antibodies to minor gangliosides have been identified in serum from GBS patients. The authors used ELISA to detect anti-ganglioside antibodies in 132 GBS patients and then correlated results with a database containing information on antecedent infections and clinical parameters. Anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibodies could be detected in 19 (14%) GBS patients. The presence of anti-GalNAc-GD1a antibodies was related to antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection (p