NEUROLOGY AND MEDICINE Neurology and the bone marrow

Human bone marrow is a fascinating and complex organ. Its major function is to produce and sustain normal haemopoiesis, and in a normal adult this entails the production of more than 10 cells/day. The marrow contains most of the multipotent haemopoietic stem cells, and provides an environment for these cells to diVerentiate into each of the well recognised peripheral blood cells (erythroctes, leucocytes, and platelets). In addition, the marrow nurtures the development of B lymphocytes and provides T cell progenitors which migrate to the thymus and diVerentiate there into mature T cells. This brief review is selective and focuses on the neurological aspects of several bone marrow disorders—namely,multiple myeloma, paraproteinaemia,Waldenstrom’s macroglobulin, cryoglobulinaemia, and lymphoma. Neurological aspects of bone marrow transplantation and chemotherapy are also considered.