Spotlight: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Charcot Marie Tooth Disease (CMT) is an inherited condition that affects the peripheral nerves, those outside the central nervous system of the brain and spinal cord. These are the nerves that control muscles and transmit information (e.g. sense of touch, pain, temperature and balance). It's also known as Hereditary Motor & Sensory Neuropathy (HMSN) and Peroneal Muscular Atrophy (PMA). The name of the disease comes from the three physicians who first described it, Jean-Martin Charcot and Pierre Marie and Howard Henry Tooth. CMT affects 1 in 2,500 people in the UK and it's the most common...