COVID-19: a modern trigger for Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and small fiber neuropathy

Francisco Gomez; Ashir Mehra; Erik Ensrud; Daniel Diedrich; Krzysztof Laudanski

doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1198327

COVID-19: a modern trigger for Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and small fiber neuropathy

Front Neurosci. 2023 Aug 30:17:1198327. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1198327. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Francisco Gomez¹, Ashir Mehra¹, Erik Ensrud¹, Daniel Diedrich², Krzysztof Laudanski²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.
² Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States.

Abstract

COVID-19 infection has had a profound impact on society. During the initial phase of the pandemic, there were several suggestions that COVID-19 may lead to acute and protracted neurologic sequelae. For example, peripheral neuropathies exhibited distinctive features as compared to those observed in critical care illness. The peripheral nervous system, lacking the protection afforded by the blood-brain barrier, has been a particular site of sequelae and complications subsequent to COVID-19 infection, including Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and small fiber neuropathy. We will discuss these disorders in terms of their clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment as well as the pathophysiology in relation to COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; GBS; Guillain-Barre; SARS-CoV-2; myasthenia gravis; peripheral neuropathy; small fiber neuropathy.

Publication types

Review