Although multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is now recognized as a distinct, albeit rare, neurological condition, the path to its recognition was long and winding. This article provides an insight into the medical history of MMN "patient zero" and the first scientific publication that led to the recognition of MMN by the medical community. Multifocal motor neuropathy is nowadays recognized as a disease that produces asymmetric muscle weakness and cramping, with spontaneous motor unit activity (fasciculations and myokymia) but without sensory disorder. From an electrophysiological point of view, the neuropathy is characterized by persistent conduction blocks that usually initially affect the proximal upper extremity. The path to recognizing this rare entity was long and winding. In this article, we describe the first known patient suffering from this disease and the scientific context of its emergence, leading to the first publication on the subject, written by Gérard Roth (1923-2006) and his colleagues at the Neurology Department of Geneva University Hospital (Switzerland) [Eur Neurol. 1986;25(6):416-23].

中文翻译：

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具有持续传导阻滞的多灶性运动神经病：开创性案例

尽管多灶性运动神经病 (MMN) 现在被认为是一种独特的、尽管罕见的神经系统疾病，但其识别之路漫长而曲折。本文提供了对 MMN“零号患者”病史的深入了解，以及导致医学界认可 MMN 的第一篇科学出版物。多灶性运动神经病现在被认为是一种产生不对称肌肉无力和痉挛的疾病，具有自发的运动单位活动（肌束震颤和肌肌束），但没有感觉障碍。从电生理学的角度来看，神经病变的特点是持续性传导阻滞，通常最初影响上肢近端。识别这个稀有实体的道路漫长而曲折。在本文中，我们描述了第一个已知的患有这种疾病的患者及其出现的科学背景，从而导致了关于该主题的第一篇出版物，由 Gérard Roth（1923-2006）和他在日内瓦大学医院神经病学系（瑞士）的同事撰写[欧元神经。1986;25(6):416-23]。