Abstract
Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease serves as the summary term for the most frequent forms of inherited peripheral neuropathies that affect motor and sensory nerves. In the last 12 years, 14 genes have been identified that cause different CMT subforms. The genes found initially are predominantly responsible for demyelinating and dysmyelinating neuropathies. Genes affected in axonal and rare forms of CMT have only recently been identified. In this review, we will focus on the currently known genes that are associated with CMT syndromes with regards to their genetics and function.
Keywords: Myelin, peripheral nervous system, Schwann cell, neurodegeneration, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, hereditary neuropathy, axon degeneration
Footnotes
Received 5 April 2003; received after revision 20 May 2003; accepted 23 May 2003