Abstract

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of inherited neuropathies. The common clinical symptoms include distal muscle weakness, wasting and impaired distal sensation, more in the legs than in the arms, and reduced or absent reflexes. Moreover, foot and hand deformities are often encountered. A distinction between a primarily demyelinating or axonal neuropathy is often possible by means of nerve conduction studies. The major groups of inheritance are the autosomal dominant CMT1 (demyelinating), CMT2 (axonal) and the X-linked type (CMTX), but there are also autosomal recessive demyelinating (CMT4) and axonal (AR-CMT2) forms. The number of genes and loci is steadily increasing, with genes encoding proteins involved in myelin maintenance and axonal function, but also with genes encoding proteins, the function of which in peripheral nerve maintenance is notyet clear. Despite the increase in the number of known genes, especially for CMT2, there are many patients in whom no mutation can yet be found.