Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2022 Jun 2:13:908282.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.908282. eCollection 2022.

Acupuncture Treatment of Guillain-Barré Syndrome After Using Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Case Report

Jialing Li  1 , Danghan Xu  2   3 , Yingyu Liu  4 , Yang Cao  2 , Jun He  2 , Muxi Liao  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Acupuncture Treatment of Guillain-Barré Syndrome After Using Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Case Report

Jialing Li et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Guillain-Barré syndrome(GBS) is an autoimmune-mediated peripheral neuropathy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are the standard treatment for cancer and may lead to immune-related adverse events (irAEs) such as GBS. Corticosteroids, plasma exchange (PE), and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) are currently accepted treatments for ICI-induced GBS. However, there are still adverse reactions, and the effect of relieving symptoms is not as good as expected. Safe and effective complementary replacement therapy to alleviate GBS symptoms and ameliorate the quality of life is urgently required. In this case, a 63-year-old man received ICI therapy and antitumor chemotherapy for lung malignancy. After two courses of treatment, the patient gradually developed limb weakness, numbness, and pain at the ends of the limbs, with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) albuminocytological dissociation, and electromyography (EMG) suggested demyelinating changes and was diagnosed as GBS. Although the patient received high doses of intravenous gamma globulin and limb weakness symptoms were alleviated, there was still significant numbness and pain in the extremities. After four times of acupuncture treatments, the patient complained that the symptoms of limb numbness and fatigue were significantly alleviated without any discomfort. This case report may provide a new alternative and complementary therapy for immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced GBS, but more definitive and robust evidence is needed to support its efficacy.

Keywords: Guillain–Barré syndrome; acupuncture; case report; immune checkpoint inhibitors; immune-related adverse events; limb weakness; numbness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The selected acupoints bilateral Tianshu (ST25), Zhongwan (CV12), Xiawan (CV10), Qihai (CV6), Guanyuan (CV4), bilateral Quchi (LI11), bilateral Hegu (LI4), bilateral Zusanli (ST36) and bilateral Sanyinjiao (SP6).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Timeline with relevant data from the episode of care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Donofrio PD. Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Continuum (Minneap Minn). (2017) 23:1295–309. 10.1212/CON.0000000000000513 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shahrizaila N, Lehmann HC, Kuwabara S. Guillain-Barré syndrome. Lancet. (2021) 397:1214–28. 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00517-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Willison HJ, Jacobs BC, van Doorn PA. Guillain-Barré syndrome. Lancet. (2016) 388:717–27. 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00339-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sejvar JJ, Baughman AL, Wise M, Morgan OW. Population incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroepidemiology. (2011) 36:123–33. 10.1159/000324710 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McGrogan A, Madle GC, Seaman HE, de Vries CS. The epidemiology of Guillain-Barré syndrome worldwide. A systematic literature review. Neuroepidemiology. (2009) 32:150–63. 10.1159/000184748 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources