Whats in the literature?

Once again, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron diseases feature prominently in the neuromuscular literature of the past 3 months, including important insights into the heterogeneity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and into the natural history of the spinal muscular atrophies. There is a good selection of articles centering on treatment of myasthenia gravis, which should be of value to clinicians; particularly useful is a head-to-head comparison of intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange, providing new data for therapeutic decision-making. Various aspects of peripheral neuropathy are addressed in several articles, among which is an important consensus article on pain control in diabetic neuropathy. Although primary diseases of muscle are less commonly encountered by most clinicians than some of these other disorders, important articles on muscular dystrophies and on a congenital myopathy are reviewed.