Table 1.
Demographic data of patients with ganglioside-associated GBS.
Figure 1.
Comparisons of electrophysiological findings and functional deficits between the ganglioside+ and ganglioside− groups.
A. Electrophysiological examinations on patients in the ganglioside+ group revealed impairment mainly to axons suggestive of acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN). In the non-ganglioside-associated group (ganglioside− group), 46 out of 77 patients (59.7%) received electrophysiological examinations, and the ratios of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) and AMAN were 56.5% and 32.6%, respectively. B. Two patients (28.6%) in the ganglioside+ group while 29 (37.7%) in the ganglioside− group were found with bilateral facial nerves palsy (p>0.05). The difference did not reach statistical significance. Ventilation ratio was significantly higher in the ganglioside+ group as compared that in the ganglioside− group (p<0.01). C. The scores of Hughes Functional Grading Scale (HFGS) were significantly different between the ganglioside+ group and the ganglioside− group, both at nadir and at discharge, and higher HFGS scores were found in the ganglioside+ group (p<0.001), suggestive of severe clinical course and poor short-term outcome. D. The Medical Research Council sum scores (MRC) were significantly lower in the ganglioside+ group both at nadir and at discharge (p<0.001).
Table 2.
Comparisons of clinical features between patients with ganglioside-associated GBS and non-ganglioside-associated GBS.
Figure 2.
Stratified analyses of electrophysiological findings and functional deficits in patients according to subtypes (axonal form or demyelinating form) between the ganglioside+ and ganglioside− groups.
A. Two acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) patients (28.6%) in the ganglioside+ group while 6 out of 15 (40%) in the ganglioside− group were found with bilateral facial nerves palsy. However, the frequency of cranial nerve involvement did not significantly differ in AMAN patients between the ganglioside+ group and ganglioside− group. The ventilation ratio was significantly higher in the ganglioside+ group when compared with that in the ganglioside− group (p<0.01). B. The scores of Hughes Functional Grading Scale (HFGS) were higher in AMAN patients in the ganglioside+ group both at nadir and at discharge suggestive of more severe clinical course and poorer short-term outcome. C. The scores of HFGS at nadir and at discharge were insignificantly different between patients with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) and AMAN in the ganglioside− group (both p>0.05). D. The sum score of Medical Research Council (MRC) at nadir was significantly higher in patients with AIDP in the ganglioside− group than AMAN (p<0.05).
Table 3.
Comparisons of clinical features of AMAN patients between the ganglioside+ group and the ganglioside− group.
Table 4.
Comparisons of clinical features between AIDP and AMAN patients in the ganglioside− group.