Guillain-Barre syndrome is a serious disorder that occurs when
the body's defense (immune) system mistakenly attacks part of
the nervous system. This leads to nerve inflammation that causes
muscle weakness and other symptoms. Guillain-Barre syndrome is
an autoimmune disorder (the body's immune system attacks
itself). Exactly what triggers Guillain-Barre syndrome is
unknown. The syndrome may occur at any age, but is most common
in people of both sexes between ages 30 and 50. It often follows
a minor infection, such as a lung infection or gastrointestinal
infection. Most of the time, signs of the original infection
have disappeared before the symptoms of Guillain-Barre begin. It
may also appear a few days or weeks after a surgery. The swine
flu vaccination in 1976 may have caused rare cases of Guillain-
Barre syndrome. However, the swine flu and the regular flu
vaccines used today have not resulted in more cases of the
illness. Guillain-Barre syndrome damages parts of nerves. This
nerve damage causes tingling, m