17 May 2026
: Case report 
A Young Woman With Ulcerative Colitis Presenting With Facial Diplegia, a Variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Challenging differential diagnosis, Unusual or unexpected effect of treatment, Educational Purpose (only if useful for a systematic review or synthesis), Rare coexistence of disease or pathology
Rong Wei
ADEF 1, Zhiyan Zhang BCE 2, Xiaohua Mu DE 1, Li Zhou ADEF 1*
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.950263
Am J Case Rep 2026; 27:e950263
Table 2 Summary of reported cases of GBS concomitant with UC.
| Case | Ref (No) | Age (yrs) | Sex | UC phase | UC treatment | GBS symptoms and types | CSF proteins | Anti-gangliosides Ab | Nerve conduction | Treatment | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 65 | F | Relapse | SulfasalazineCorticosteroids | Quadriplegia, dysphagia, bilateral facial palsy, paresthesia, urinary and rectal incontinence, AIDP | 1120 mg/L | NA | Prolongation of distal motor nerve latencies and decreased motor velocities of all 4 limbs | Corticosteroids | Recovery |
| 2 | 11 | 58 | M | Remission | SulfasalazineCorticosteroids | Paresthesia of the legs and arms, proximal weakness of the legs, AIDP | Normal | NA | Decreased motor velocities in the legs | Corticosteroids | Recovery |
| 3 | 12 | 56 | F | Remission | 5-ASACorticosteroids | Weakness and hypoesthesia of her hands and lower limbs, AIDP | NA | NA | NA | Plasmapheresis | Recovery |
| 4 | 13 | 69 | F | Remission | Sulfasalazine | Interscapular pain and lower-limb paresthesias, complete paralysis of legs, intense weakness of arms, AIDP | 6870 mg/L | NA | Very slow nerve conduction velocities | Immunoglobulin | Improvement |
| 5 | 14 | 28 | M | Relapse | MesalamineCorticosteroidsAzathioprine | Paresthesias and weakness in both lower limbs, AMSAN | 4730 mg/L | GM-1 | Decreased CMAP and absent sensory nerves action potentials at the lower extremities | CorticosteroidsImmunoglobulin | Recovery |
| 6 | 15 | 47 | M | Remission | Infliximab5-ASASalazosulfapyridine | Paresthesia of hands and lower limbs, reduced power of lower limbs, AIDP | NA | NA | Acquired segmental demyelinating polyneuropathy | CorticosteroidsImmunoglobulin | Recovery |
| 7 | 16 | 59 | M | Relapse | 5-ASACorticosteroids | Lower-extremity weakness, AIDP | 905 mg/L | NA | Motor-sensory symmetrical demyelinating peripheral polyneuropathy | Immunoglobulin | Recovery |
| 8 | 17 | 74 | M | BeforeUC | Aminosalicylates | Weakness of legs and arms, AMAN | 360 mg/L | GM-1, GDA-1, GM-2-IgM | Motor axonal polyneuropathy without acute denervation | Immunoglobulin | Recovery |
| 9 | 18 | 31 | F | Remission | 5-ASAMesalazine | Numbness of upper extremities, weakness of all 4 limbs, AIDP | 360 mg/L | NA | Significantly slow nerve conduction velocity, lower amplitude | Corticosteroids | Recovery |
| 10 | 19 | 39 | M | BeforeUC | 5-ASA | Numbness in the upper extremities, weakness of limbs, right peripheral facial paralysis, AIDP | Normal | Negative | The ulnar nerve conduction velocity was low, with a low amplitude | Immunoglobulin | Recovery |
| 11 | 20 | 68 | F | Remission | Colectomy | Mild distress, dyspneic, hypophonic speech, weakness of upper and lower extremities, PCB | 306 mg/L | GQ1b | Severe sensorimotor, axonal, and demyelinating peripheral neuropathy of all 4 extremities | Immunoglobulinplasmapheresis | Improvement |
| 12 | 21 | 24 | F | Relapse | CorticosteroidsSulfasalazine Azathioprine | Symmetrical proximal more than distal weakness of both upper and lower limbs, a weak neck muscle power, AMAN | 620 mg/L | NA | Acute motor axonal neuropathy type of GBS | Immunoglobulin | Improvement |
| 13 | 22 | 68 | F | Relapse | CorticosteroidsInfliximabColectomyUstekinumab | Dysarthria, dysphagia, facial diparesis, flaccid tetraparesis, tactile hypoesthesia, AIDP | Elevated | NA | NA | Immunoglobulin | Recovery |
| Ref – reference; CSF – cerebrospinal fluid; 5ASA – 5-aminosalicylic acid; NA – not available; CMAP – compound muscle action potential; Ab – antibody. | |||||||||||