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(See editorial commentary by Lunn and Hughes on pages 845–847)

Background.  Little is known about the epidemiology and the prognostic factors of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) following primary infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV-GBS).

Methods.  We prospectively followed up 506 patients with cases of GBS who were admitted to our center from 1996 through 2006. We diagnosed 63 (12.4%) CMV-GBS cases by immunoglobulin (Ig) M detection and IgG avidity. Plasma CMV DNA was detected at hospital admission. Patient subgroups were compared using Fisher's exact test and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Temporal variations were analyzed with time series methods.

Results.  Patients with CMV-GBS were mostly young (median age, 32 years; sex ratio, 0.85), but we also identified a subpopulation of patients consisting of women …