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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is Guillain-Barre Syndrome Genetic?

my sons father had Gillian barre syndrome when he was 17. is it inherited? Our son is now almost 16 and has had episodes at night were his whole body has went numb for a 30 seconds to 1 min or 2mins. I am worried this could be something similar to what his dad had. His father pasted away 10yrs ago so i really don t have a lot of information on it.
Mon, 18 Dec 2017
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello and thank you for using healthcaremagic.

I understand your concern as both father and son are affected from gullian - barre syndrome.

Truth is gullian barre syndrome is a rare disease with unknown cause though it has been shown to be autoimmune in nature meaning body attacks its own tissue, in this case the myelin sheath, which is a covering of the nerves which causes them to work slower causing weakness. Some cases have been shown to occur after a bacterial or viral infection. It is not shown to be genetic.

So it can't be passed on through genes to children from parents.

The repeated attacks of the numbness , are a cause of concern and should be checked as soon as possible. I believe other causes of the condition should be searched as symptoms you explained are uncommon in gullian barre syndrome.

Hoping for a good recovery of your son.

I hope you found answer to your query. Feel free to ask any other queries if you have.


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Is Guillain-Barre Syndrome Genetic?

Hello and thank you for using healthcaremagic. I understand your concern as both father and son are affected from gullian - barre syndrome. Truth is gullian barre syndrome is a rare disease with unknown cause though it has been shown to be autoimmune in nature meaning body attacks its own tissue, in this case the myelin sheath, which is a covering of the nerves which causes them to work slower causing weakness. Some cases have been shown to occur after a bacterial or viral infection. It is not shown to be genetic. So it can t be passed on through genes to children from parents. The repeated attacks of the numbness , are a cause of concern and should be checked as soon as possible. I believe other causes of the condition should be searched as symptoms you explained are uncommon in gullian barre syndrome. Hoping for a good recovery of your son. I hope you found answer to your query. Feel free to ask any other queries if you have.