Charcot Marie Tooth Disease Essay

Disease Core Paper Rough Draft The media has a reputation to present and exaggerate things that are of little importance; however, in an ironic twist, it seems that the most common inherited peripheral nerve disease in the United States seems to still elude the awareness of many. Charcot Marie Tooth disease, or CMT as it is quite commonly abbreviated, is a serious genetic disease that impairs many in the country. Named for the three scientists that discovered it in the late 1800s, Charcot Marie Tooth disease actually has nothing to do with teeth, but rather a very important part of our body, the Peripheral Nervous System (“Understanding CMT”). Charcot Marie Tooth disease is a common genetic disease which provides many obstacles for those impaired, an

Symptoms can also cause difficulties in determining if an object is hot or cold, a lack of balance, or “slapping feet”, a condition where feet slap the floor when walking because the feet cannot be lifted very high. Several different forms of CMT provide different sets of symptoms; Roussy-Levy Syndrome includes high arches, low reflexes, tremor in upper limbs, sensory loss, lack of coordination, and distant limb weakness (Krajewski). CMT3 is a name given to Dejerine-Sottes Syndrome, a severe early development of the disease that can either be classified more broadly under CMT1 or CMT4. CMTX5 is a distant case of CMT which, in the worst circumstances, can lead to deafness and vision loss (“Understanding CMT”). Before many of these symptoms can become prevalent, a diagnosis can be made using Nerve Conduction Testing. This is able to measure the message speed in peripheral nerves and can determine if one has CMT1 or CMT2. (A test result where the nerve speed is slow is a case of CMT1, and a case where the nerve speed is normal can be CMT2.) Before a patient is certain they are stricken with