New territory opened by periodic paralysis associated with mitochondrial DNA mutation

摘要

Science is an exploration of knowledge. Early world maps did not recognize large land masses until someone first observed them. The report by Aure et al.1 describes new territory in the field of periodic paralysis and other disorders of skeletal muscle membrane excitability. The muscle membrane has to balance on a knife edge between excessive excitability manifest by conditions such as myotonia, and inexcitability, as occurs intermittently in periodic paralysis.2"4 Understanding disorders of altered muscle membrane excitability is important because the knowledge gained leads to increased understanding of how excitable membranes function and may suggest ways of treating membrane disorders that can involve many tissues, including brain, peripheral nerve, and skeletal and cardiac muscle.