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Neurology (Expert Forum)
What does myelopathy and radiculo neuropathy have to do with GBS?
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What does myelopathy and radiculo neuropathy have to do with GBS?
by Jen-Schiler, Mar 09, 1998 12:00AM
Re: What does myelopathy and radiculo neuropathy have to do with GBS?
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Posted by CCF MD mdf on March 10, 1998 at 11:51:30:
In Reply to: What does myelopathy and radiculo neuropathy have to do with GBS? posted by Jen Schiller on March 09, 1998 at 21:54:35:
: I posted a question about GBS, Vitamin B12 deficiency and Peripheral Neuropathy two weeks ago. On a form to my disability insurance company that my neurologist just completed he listed the primary diagnosis as "melopathy" and "radiculo neuropathy (radiculopathy??)! His previous diagnosis was "GBS variant", or acute demylinating polyneuropathy. I looked up "mylopathy" - referred to degenerative changes in spinal cord ocurring as a complication of diabetes. I DON'T have diabetes! I could find no definition of "radiculo neuropathy", only "radiculopathy" - again referring to a herniated or prolapsed disc which compresses the radicular nerve. Is his "new" diagnosis consistent with GBS? Did I get the right definitions (it was from this site)? NOW I really am confused!! If my neurologist erred in confusing me with someone else, I need to get him to correct that diagnosis to my disability insurer!
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Guillain-Barre Syndrome is an acute polyneuropathy, usually involving some degree of weakness and possibly respiratory failure. There are many underlying causes, but in general it is a condition related to your own immune system's attack on the peripheral nerves. Usually the immune target is the myelin sheath (insulation). The affected nerves do not conduct as well as they should, leading to symptoms.
Radiculopathy usually implies damage to the nerve roots which come out of the spinal cord. The term does not imply any mechanism. For example, you may have radiculopathy from compression ("pinched nerve") or resulting from inflammation related to infection or other causes.
Radiculoneuropathy is a nonspecific term which means that nerve roots (radiculo-) and peripheral nerves (neuropathy) are involved.
Myelopathy refers to damage to the spinal cord itself, and neurologists use certain signs and symptoms to distinguish the localization of the injury. GBS is not a myelopathy. As with the above terms, there is no specific mechanism implied. For example, you may have compressive myelopathy from narrowing of the space through which the spinal cord passes. Infections can produce myelopathy (for example, a virus called HTLV-1). Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause myelopathy. Demyelination in the spinal cord also is a cause. And the list goes on.
If your neurologist is not quite certain of the diagnosis, he may use less specific terms such as radiculoneuropathy rather than a definite term such as GBS. Ask him how certain he is of the diagnosis.
