Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease is a group of inherited disorders that progressively damage peripheral nerves, causing muscle weakness and sensory loss, especially in the feet and lower legs.

Peripheral neuropathy: Disorders involving damage or dysfunction of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease is an inherited cause of peripheral nerve dysfunction.
Peripheral nervous system: The nerves and ganglia outside the brain and spinal cord. CMT affects peripheral nerves rather than directly damaging the central nervous system.
Genetic testing: Laboratory analysis used to identify changes in a person's DNA. Testing can confirm a CMT subtype and clarify inheritance within a family.
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: An acquired immune-mediated disorder that damages peripheral nerve myelin over time. Unlike inherited CMT, this neuropathy is generally acquired and may respond to immune treatment.
Jean-Martin Charcot: A French neurologist who helped establish neurology as a medical specialty. Charcot co-described the inherited neuropathy now bearing his name.
Demyelination: Damage to the insulating myelin sheath around nerve fibers. In many CMT forms, myelin damage slows electrical signals along peripheral nerves.
Myelin: A lipid-rich insulating layer around many nerve fibers that helps electrical impulses travel efficiently. Several CMT subtypes involve inherited defects in peripheral nerve myelin.
Electromyography: A test that records electrical activity in skeletal muscles. It helps assess nerve-related muscle changes during evaluation for CMT.
Diabetic neuropathy: Peripheral nerve damage associated with diabetes. It is a common acquired cause of neuropathy, unlike CMT's inherited basis.
Pierre Marie: A French neurologist known for work on neurological diseases and their clinical classification. Marie co-authored the 1886 description of the disease.

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