High-dose steroid therapy in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

In a pilot study, high-dose steroid therapy in acute Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) proved to be successful. The pharmacodynamic aspects of this approach appear interesting and worthy of further investigation. An initial dose of 1000 or 500 mg methylprednisolone is recommended which should be given in four divided doses per day. A very slow reduction in the dose is necessary to avoid a relapse. Lack of response correlated with late onset of therapy and high age of the patients.