Respiratory tract bacterium uncovered as trigger for serious nervous system disease

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute life-threatening disease of the nervous system that leads to sensory disturbances and acute flaccid paralysis. A group of researchers has now shown for the first time that bacteria, which often cause pneumonia, can trigger the autoimmune disease GBS. Antibodies that not only attack the bacteria but also the outer layer of the body’s own nerve cells are a critical step in the pathogenesis of GBS after this respiratory infection.