Hypertension and papilloedema in the Guillain-Barré syndrome

Abstract

Three patients with the Guillain-Barré Syndrome are described, one of whom was relapsing. Hypertension persisted for three to four months in two patients, associated with increased urinary excretion of catecholamines. Baroreceptor sensitivity, although depressed, did not explain the hypertension. It may be due to lesions affecting either central vasomotor control or peripheral sympathetic nerve activity. Two patients had papilloedema. This has been attributed in the literature to defective reabsorption of CSF due to high protein concentration. Normal reabsorption of isotope labelled albumin from the subrachnoid space argues against this explanation in our cases.