GuillainBarré Syndrome is an ailment of progressive muscle weakness that is due to a disorder in which the body attacks itself.When you suffer from it, the antibodies that should fulfill their protective function get confused and attack the nerves in charge of moving the muscles and giving sensations of pain and temperature.
Usually, those who suffer from it feel tiredness in the legs that progresses towards a weakness that makes walking and arm movements impossible. Even in the most severe cases, the weakness affects the breathing muscles, which is why many patients come to need assisted ventilation.
Relationship of Covid-19 vaccines with the syndrome
In August 2021, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) warned of the appearance of 34 suspected cases of the syndrome, in people who had been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Of these cases, 27 had received the AstraZeneca doses, four the CoronaVac and three the Janssen. Before this warning, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in July 2021 alerted about a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and GBS, and also the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products.
At that time, the EMA indicated that the relationship was neither confirmed nor ruled out, but advised to include it in the list of warnings, about the signs and symptoms that it can produce, so that it could be diagnosed and treated in time.
Subsequently, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the information on the Janssen vaccine: “Reports of adverse events after use of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine under emergency use authorization, suggest an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome for 42 days after vaccination.”
In January 2021, Mexican doctor Karla Cecilia Pérez suffered paralysis of her arms and legs after receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. She also had slurred speech and seizures. Pérez had to receive intensive therapy and her condition was improving.
Cases of the syndrome increased from 2021 to 2022 in the country
According to data from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), in 2021 there were 134 hospital discharges due to the syndrome. Of these, 91 cases were men and 23 women.
In 2022, the number rose to 170, of these cases 102 correspond to men and 68 to women. In both years, the Rafael ÁngelCalderón Guardia, San Juan de Dios and México hospitals were the medical centers that treated the most patients with this syndrome.
But what causes GuillainBarré?
According to Dr. Alexander Parajeles, a neurologist at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, respiratory viral symptoms and intestinal infections, such as helicobacter pylori, are some of the causes.”Prevention is related to less contact with these infectious factors, but in general, they tend to be fortuitous,” said the expert…
