Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University "G. d'Annunzio,", Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
Muscle Nerve. 2013 Oct;48(4):484-7. doi: 10.1002/mus.23881.
Natura non facit saltus (Latin for "nature does not make jumps") is a maxim expressing the idea that natural things and properties change gradually, in a continuum, rather than suddenly. In biomedical sciences, for taxonomic purposes, we make jumps that emphasize differences more than similarities. Among the dysimmune neuropathies, 2 disorders, characterized by the presence of antibodies to gangliosides GM1 and GD1a and a peculiar, exclusive motor involvement, have been identified: acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). However, anti-GM1 or -GD1a antibodies are also associated with acute motor and sensory axonal motor neuropathy (AMSAN). We review the results of recent clinical and experimental studies showing that AMAN and MMN are not exclusively motor. We discuss the possible explanations for the greater resistance of sensory fibers to antibody attack to finally suggest that AMAN, AMSAN, and MMN belong to a continuous spectrum with a common pathophysiological mechanism.
自然不跳跃（拉丁语为“nature does not make jumps”）是一个表达自然事物和属性逐渐变化的格言，在一个连续体中，而不是突然变化。在生物医学科学中，出于分类目的，我们会做出强调差异而不是相似性的跳跃。在免疫失调性神经病中，已经确定了 2 种疾病，其特征是存在针对神经节苷脂 GM1 和 GD1a 的抗体以及独特的、排他性的运动受累：急性运动轴索性神经病（AMAN）和多灶性运动神经病（MMN）。然而，抗-GM1 或 -GD1a 抗体也与急性运动感觉轴索性神经病（AMSAN）相关。我们回顾了最近的临床和实验研究结果，这些结果表明 AMAN 和 MMN 不仅仅是运动性的。我们讨论了感觉纤维对抗体攻击更具抵抗力的可能解释，最终建议 AMAN、AMSAN 和 MMN 属于具有共同病理生理机制的连续谱。
