Guillain-Barre syndrome: Advances in pathogenic understanding and diagnostic improvements

Guillain-Barre syndrome is the most common acute flaccid paralysis worldwide. Advances in pathogenesis and diagnosis over recent years have enhanced our understanding of the disease.Areas covered: Literature in PubMed and Cochrane Library with keywords of 'Guillain-Barre syndrome', 'acute motor axonal neuropathy', 'diagnosis' and 'pathogenesis' were searched. Papers up to January 2015 were included and the emphasis is mainly put on those published in the past 3 years.Expert opinion: Significant advances have been made in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome and improvement has been made in the understanding of the disease as well as management of patients. However, more studies involving large multicenter cohorts are required as there are still unanswered questions in this field.