Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Treatment & Management
- Author: Divakara Kedlaya, MBBS; Chief Editor: Jason H Calhoun, MD, FACS more...
Medical Care
- Currently, no treatment exists to reverse or slow the natural disease process for the underlying disorder. Nothing can correct the abnormal myelin, prevent its degeneration, or prevent axonal degeneration.
- Improved understanding of the genetics and biochemistry of the disorder offers hope for an eventual treatment.
- Patients often are evaluated and treated symptomatically by a team that includes a neurologist, physiatrist, orthopedic surgeon, physical therapist, and occupational therapist.
Surgical Care
Orthopedic surgery is required to correct severe pes cavus deformities, scoliosis, and other joint deformities. Treatment is determined by the age of the patient and the cause and severity of the deformity.
Surgical procedures consist of the following 3 types:
- Soft tissue (plantar fascia release, tendon release or transfer)
- Osteotomy (metatarsal, midfoot, calcaneal)
- Joint stabilizing (triple arthrodesis)
Surgical procedures are usually staged. The initial procedure is a radical plantar or plantar-medial release, with a dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy of the first metatarsal base if necessary. Tendo calcaneus lengthening should not be performed as part of the initial procedure, because the force used to dorsiflex the forefoot causes the calcaneus to dorsiflex into an unacceptable position. If the hindfoot is flexible and a posterior release is not necessary, posterior tibial tendon transfer can be done as part of the initial procedure for severe anterior tibial weakness.[33]
When the hindfoot is flexible, early, aggressive treatment with soft-tissue releases can delay the need for more extensive reconstructive procedures. The Jones procedure includes transfer of the extensor hallucis longus and arthrodesis of the interphalangeal joint of the great toe.
The Coleman block test is sometimes used to help decide what type of surgery is best. In cases of cavovarus deformity, this test evaluates hindfoot flexibility.[34] The Coleman block test is performed by placing the patient's foot on a wood block that is 2.5-4 cm thick, with the heel and lateral border of the foot on the block and bearing full weight while the first, second, and third metatarsals are allowed to hang freely into plantar flexion and pronation. If heel varus corrects while the patient is standing on the block, the hindfoot is considered flexible. If the subtalar joint is supple and corrects with the block test, then surgical procedures may be directed at correcting forefoot pronation, which is usually due to plantar flexion of the first metatarsal. If the hindfoot is rigid, then surgical correction of the forefoot and hindfoot is required.
Triple arthrodesis serves as a salvage procedure for patients in whom other procedures have been unsuccessful, as well as in patients with untreated fixed deformities.
Children younger than 8 years with supple hindfeet usually respond to plantar releases and appropriate tendon transfers. A first metatarsal osteotomy may be needed in some cases.
Children younger than 12 years with rigid hindfoot deformities may need radical plantar-medial release, first metatarsal osteotomy, and Dwyer lateral closing-wedge osteotomy of the calcaneus to correct the deformities.
In the early 1970s, the Akron dome osteotomy was developed as a salvage surgical option to manage rigid cavus deformity of the foot. In a retrospective study, Weiner and colleagues showed that this operation is a valuable salvage procedure in the management of the rigid cavus deformity in children with CMT disease.[35]
Wukich and Bowen reported that only 14% of patients with CMT disease required triple arthrodesis.[36] They also reported hindfoot stability with triple arthrodesis, and when transferring the posterior tibial tendon anteriorly, this eliminated the need for a postoperative drop-foot brace. They reported good or excellent results in 88% of patients who were treated with this method.
Generally, spinal deformities in children with CMT disease can be treated with the same techniques used for idiopathic scoliosis.
Consultations
- Consult specialists in neurogenetics to order specific genetic tests and proper genetic counseling.
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| CMT Type | Chromosome; Inheritance Pattern | Age of Onset | Clinical Features | Average NCVs§ |
| CMT 1A (PMP-22¶ dupl.) | 17p11; AD* | First decade | Distal weakness | 15-20 m/s |
| CMT 1B (P0 -MPZ)** | 1q22; AD | First decade | Distal weakness | < 20 m/s |
| CMT 1C (non A, non B) | 16p13;AD | Second decade | Distal weakness | 26-42 m/s |
| CMT 1D (early growth response [EGR]–2)#[21] | 10q21; AD | First decade | Distal weakness | 15-20 m/s |
| CMT 1E | 17p11; AD | First decade | Distal weakness, deafness | 15-20 m/s |
| CMT 1F | 8p21; AD | First decade | Distal weakness | 15-20 m/s |
| CMT X (Connexin-32)[22, 23, 24, 25, 26] | Xq13; XD‡ | Second decade | Distal weakness | 25-40 m/s |
| CMT 2A | 1p36; AD | 10 y | Distal weakness | >38 m/s |
| CMT 2B | 3q; AD | Second decade | Distal weakness, sensory loss, skin ulcers | Axon loss; Normal |
| CMT 2C | 12q23-q24, AD | First decade | Vocal cord, diaphragm, and distal weakness | >50 m/s |
| CMT 2D | 7p14; AD | 16-30 y | Distal weakness, upper limb predominantly | Axon loss; N†† |
| CMT 2E | 8p21; AD | 10-30 y | Distal weakness, lower limb predominantly | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2F | 7q11-q21; AD | 15-25 y | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2G | 12q12-q13; ?AD | 9-76 y | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2H | ?; AR† | 15-25 y | Distal weakness, Pyramidal features | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2I | 1q22; AD | 47-60 y | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2J | 1q22; AD | 40-50 y | Distal weakness, hearing loss | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2K | 8q13-q21; AR | < 4 y | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT 2L | 12q24; AD | 15-25 y | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT R-Ax (Ouvrier) | AR | First decade | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| CMT R-Ax (Moroccan) | 1q21; AR | Second decade | Distal weakness | Axon loss; N |
| Cowchock syndrome | Xq24-q26 | First decade | Distal weakness, deafness, mental retardation | Axon loss; N |
| HNPP|| (PMP-22) Or tomaculous neuropathy | 17p11; AD | All ages | Episodic weakness and numbness | Conduction Blocks |
| Dejerine-Sottas syndrome (DSS) or hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN) 3 | P0; AR PMP-22; AD 8q23; AD | 2 y | Severe weakness | < 10 m/s |
| Congenital hypomyelination (CH) | P0, EGR2 or PMP-22 AR | Birth | Severe weakness | < 10 m/s |
| CMT 4A | 8q13; AR | Childhood | Distal weakness | Slow |
| CMT 4B (Myotubular in-related protein-2)[17] | 11q23; AR | 2-4 y | Distal and proximal weakness | Slow |
| CMT 4C | 5q23; AR | 5-15 y | Delayed walking | 14-32 m/s |
| CMT 4D (Lom) (N-myc Downstream- Regulated Gene 1) | 8q24; AR | 1-10 y | Distal muscle wasting, foot and hand deformities | 10-20 m/s |
| CMT 4E (EGR2) | 10q21; AR | Birth | Infant hypotonia | 9-20 m/s |
| CMT 4G | 10q23.2; AR | 8-16 years | Distal weakness | 9-20 m/s |
| CMT 4H | 12p11.21-q13.11; AR | 0-2 years | Delayed walking | 9-20 m/s |
| CMT 4F | 19q13; AR | 1-3 y | Motor delay | Absent |
| *Autosomal dominant †Autosomal recessive ‡X-linked dominant §Nerve conduction velocities ||Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy ¶Peripheral myelin protein #Early growth response **Myelin protein zero ††Normal | ||||

