Guillain-Barré syndrome after exogenous gangliosides in Italy.

Exogenous gangliosides are marketed in several countries and used to treat many neurological diseases. Although no well designed clinical trial has con- vincingly shown their efficacy in diseases of the peripheral or central nervous system, they are widely prescribed, at least in Italy. An estimated 4-1% of the population in Rome were prescribed gangliosides in 1989,1 and in 1991 around 4-2% of the 687 401 people from five local health districts in the Emilia Romagna region received the drugs (N Montanaro, et al, personal communication).