The pharyngeal-cervical-brachial variant (PCB) of
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has clinical features similar to those of
botulism and
diphtheria. Mizoguchi et al. (1994) [Mizoguchi, K., Hase, A., Obi, T., Matsuoka, H., Takatsu, M., Nishimura, Y., Irie, F., Seyama, Y., Hirabayashi, Y., 1994. Two species of antiganglioside
antibodies in a patient with a pharyngeal-cervical-brachial variant of
Guillain-Barré syndrome. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 57, 1121-1123] reported a patient with PCB-like symptoms who had serum
IgG anti-GT1a
antibodies which did not cross-react with GQ1b. We assumed that PCB is associated with anti-GT1a
antibodies that do not have reactivity to GQ1b and made a serological study of a PCB patient. We searched for PCB patients prospectively and found one with PCB. This patient had
IgG anti-GT1a
antibodies which were not absorbed with GQ1b in an absorption study, whereas
IgG anti-GT1a
antibodies from Fisher's syndrome patients were. The frequency of positive
IgG anti-GT1a antibody did not differ in patients with and without
bulbar palsy. Our findings indicate that
IgG anti-GT1a
antibodies which do not cross-react with GQ1b are specifically detectable in PCB and can be used as a diagnostic marker of PCB.