Guillain-Barré Syndrome

It often begins insidiously. A tingling in the fingertips, a numbness in the feet, a diffuse sensation as though a glove were being pulled over your limbs. Then the tingling becomes weakness. Your legs no longer carry you. Your hands no longer obey. Within days or weeks you lose control over something you have never consciously controlled — your ability to move, to hold yourself upright, to carry yourself through the world.

Medically, Guillain-Barré syndrome is an acute autoimmune reaction in which the body's own immune system attacks the nerve sheaths — the insulation that ensures signals from the brain reliably reach the muscles. Communication breaks down. Your will says: move. Your body does not respond. In severe cases the respiratory muscles can also be affected — at which point a neurological problem becomes a life-threatening situation requiring intensive medical care.