A Case of Regional Variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Neurologists are occasionally confronted with patients who have unique symptoms of bilateral but regional weaknesses that do not conform to the typical case with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Acute facial diplegia is a very uncommon neurologic manifestation that can be the presenting symptom in a wide range of diseases. We describe a 32-year-old male patient with acute facial diplegia and distal limb paresthesias without diminished reflexes. His neurophysiologic studies, CSF albuminocytologic dissociation and the clinical course are in keeping with a regional variant of GBS. The absence of hyporeflexia does not necessarily exclude the diagnosis of a GBS variant.