GBS|CIDP Awareness Month This May!

Posted on April 30, 2026

GBS|CIDP Awareness Month This May!

110 Years. 110 Stories. 110 Reasons to Raise Awareness for GBS and CIDP.

This May, join us in recognizing a major milestone in our community, the 110th anniversary of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). This will be celebrated during GBS|CIDP Awareness Month by listening to the stories here (link to Annexon’s portal) and sharing them to help raise much-needed awareness for GBS and CIDP. If you plan to host an event to raise awareness, please email events@gbs-cidp.org.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) was first identified and named in 1916 by French neurologists Georges Guillain, Jean Alexandre Barré, and André Strohl, who distinguished it as a unique condition. As of 2026, this landmark identification occurred 110 years ago, marking over a century of research into the disorder. Yet even today, with so many international GBS patient registries and research efforts, there are still thousands who face the devastating challenges of this condition every year. 110 years later, there is still no cure.

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare disorder of the peripheral nerves characterized by gradually increasing sensory loss and weakness associated with loss of reflexes. It’s caused by damage to the covering of the nerves, called myelin. It can start at any age and is more frequent in men than in women.

CIDP differs from GBS in that CIDP is a chronic condition with symptoms that develop over time and may relapse or go into remission, often requiring ongoing treatment, while GBS is an acute condition that typically progresses rapidly and then improves after a single episode. But GBS and CIDP have one thing in common – there is no cure yet for either condition.

“Both conditions and its variants are extremely rare. GBS affects 2 people each year in every 100,000. The prevalence of CIDP is estimated to be as many as 9 in 100,000 individuals.” – Lisa Butler, President and CEO of the GBS|CIDP Foundation International