Doctors and scientists have not yet determined how to prevent Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Since Guillain-Barré syndrome is not a disease itself, and it is not known exactly how it occurs, it is difficult to say how GBS could be prevented. Scientists are concentrating on finding new treatments and refining existing ones. Scientists are also looking at the workings of the immune system to find which cells are responsible for beginning and carrying out the attack on the nervous system.
The fact that so many cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome begin after a viral or bacterial infection suggests that certain characteristics of some viruses and bacteria may activate the immune system inappropriately. Investigators are searching for those characteristics.