What is CMT?
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease is a genetic condition that damages peripheral nerves. These nerves are responsible for passing on commands from the brain to the muscles (motor nerves) and for passing information to the brain about sensations, such as pain, heat, cold, touch, importantly for balance – where your joints are in space (sensory nerves). When these are damaged, people are said to have a neuropathy.
Because of this nerve damage, people with CMT may find that some of their muscles become slowly weaker over the years, particularly in their feet and hands. Some find that feeling becomes dull, or numb, in the same areas.
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Further information
In the UK, it is estimated that approximately 25,000 people may have CMT, making it the most common inherited neurological condition.
Other key points about CMT are that the condition:
- is rarely life-threatening, but often becomes slowly worse over the years
- comes in many forms, some of which are more severe than others
- can affect people very differently, even in the same family
- can cause the muscles in the foot, lower leg, hand and forearm to become wasted and weak
- can cause foot drop gait, foot bone abnormalities (e.g. high arches and hammer toes), problems with hand function, balance problems, occasional lower leg and forearm muscle cramping, and loss of some normal reflexes
- may cause long-term pain and tiredness (fatigue)
- can be passed on from parent to child: the precise way it is passed on to subsequent generations depends on the genes involved
- affects all ethnic groups throughout the world
- is the focus of much research, bringing us close to answering the CMT enigma.
References:
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in Northern England. Charlotte Foley, Ian Schofield, Gail Eglon, Geraldine Bailey, Patrick F Chinnery, Rita Horvath; Institute of Genetic Medicine. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2011;-:1e2.
doi:10.1136/jnnp-2011-300285
Skre H. Genetic and clinical aspects of Charcot-Marie-Tooth’s disease. Clin Genet 1974;6:98e118.