This week’s question comes from Facebook:
Q: I have a medical question for you. Can you do a segment on Charcot Marie Tooth. It is in the same catagory as MD. It attacks your nerves and muscles. My whole family has this disease. My sister, my 2 brothers and myself (our parents have passed away) were affected in different ways. My sister was the first to find out the name of the disease. No one knew what it was or a name for what it was. It is not a fun thing to get. So could you maybe do a segment please. Thanks! I’m curious to see how common Charcot Marie Tooth disease is here in our area.
Thanks again!
Elizabeth Ponton Mosleyo
Basset
A: I checked in with Dr. Saria Saccocio, Chief Medical Officer for Danville Regional Medical Center to get some more information about Charcot Marie Tooth.
Dr. Saccocio says, “It is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders but it is still very rare.”
About 1 in 2500 people in the United States develop the condition which is about 125,000 people who may have Charcot Marie Tooth.
What is it?
She says, “It is genetic, so you inherit it from your parents or your family members. It does affect the nerves and you do lose muscle and touch sensation… that usually occurs in the feet and legs but can also have it in the hands and the arms.”
*Signs of Charcot Marie Tooth usually show up in late childhood or early adulthood *In addition to muscle wasting it can cause a person’s toes to curl *Pregnancy and stress can make the condition worse *In some extremely serious cases can affect breathing some people can end up with scoliosis
What is the treatment?
*There is no cure
*Since it is part of person’s DNA there is nothing that can be done to prevent it *The most important thing to do is movement - working on muscle strength and flexibility *Physical therapy is really one of the best ways to cope with the condition
Dr. Saccocio says, “When you stop moving it makes the condition worse.”
As always we are reminded that it is best for patients go to a family physician with any questions or concerns you have regarding our health. He or she can then best guide us to any further treatment if needed.
