Guillain-Barré syndrome in Oxfordshire: clinical features in relation to age

We have examined the clinical features of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a UK series with a valid epidemiological base, studying cases from a geographically-defined population using enhanced data from the Oxford record linkage study and applying standard diagnostic criteria. Clinical features in patients aged > or = 60 years were compared with those aged 20-59 years. Cranial nerve involvement was found less often in old than in young adults (6/21 vs 27/41, chi 2 p < 0.02). Old patients more frequently had other diagnoses accompanying GBS (10/21 vs 3/41, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between old and young in: occurrence or type of preceding illness; site of symptoms at onset; severity of maximal neurological impairment; sphincter dysfunction or any autonomic involvement; requirement for artificial ventilation; case fatality rate; proportion of patients with no residual disability at or before 12 months from onset; mean duration from onset to maximal neurological impairment, from onset to first signs of recovery, and from maximal neurological impairment to recovery ('plateau time'). The variety and severity of clinical features of Guillain-Barré syndrome are similar in old and young adults.