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Guillain-Barré syndrome

Guillain-Barré syndrome

8.5
A rare illness in which the body's immune system attacks nerves, causing pain, weakness and sometimes loss of movement
  • noun
  • /ɡiˈjæn bɑːˈreɪ ˈsɪnˌdroʊm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : síndrome de Guillain-Barré
  • Doctors diagnosed the paralysis that was creeping up Justin Chenier's legs as Guillain-Barré syndrome.
  • neurological Guillain-Barré syndrome

Examples

  • Unfortunately, some people immunized with the vaccine developed a rare form of paralysis called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

    Blog text (13)
  • When the campaign to vaccinate the U.S. population started four months later, there were almost immediate claims of side effects, including the neurologically debilitating Guillain-Barré syndrome.

    Academic text (2005)
  • It is unclear whether seasonal influenza vaccination results in a net increase or decrease in the risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

    Academic text (2015)
  • Guillain-Barré syndrome is an acute polyneuropathy that gives rise to muscular weakness, paralysis, and areflexia usually in an ascending pattern.

  • In adults, Guillain-Barré syndrome has been reported after the first dose, but it is considered rare—about one in one million vaccinees—and no deaths have been reported.

Synonyms

Landry's paralysis
vsGuillain-Barré syndrome
  • Archaic
9.9

A rare nerve disease that causes pain, muscle weakness, and sometimes paralysis in the arms and legs

involves the immune system attacking peripheral nerves directly
infectious polyneuritis
vsGuillain-Barré syndrome
  • Archaic
7.5

Swelling of many nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that causes pain, weakness and sometimes paralysis

involves the immune system attacking peripheral nerves rather than an unknown cause

Surface Forms

Morphology

Guillain-Barré + syndrome

The element 'syndrome' clearly signals a medical condition or set of symptoms, so a learner who knows that word can infer that this is an illness. However, 'Guillain-Barré' is an eponym/proper name with no compositional meaning, so the specific nature (peripheral nerve autoimmune attack, muscle weakness/paralysis) is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Guillain-Barré syndrome comes from the names of two French doctors, Guillain and Barré, who first described this nerve illness in patients. That's why today we use their names to refer to this disease.