I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). There are a number of types and sub-types of it that have been identified. CMT is one of the 40 diseases covered by the MDA. But, unlike Muscular Dystrophy, in which the defect is in the muscles, CMT is the most common inherited neurological disorder and the defect is in the nerves that control the muscles. We are born with healthy muscles. CMT is primarily a disease of the peripheral nerves (the connecting lines between the brain and muscle). This is outside the spinal cord - PNS not the CNS. Signals can't get to and from the brain to muscle and skin and other things. The muscles atrophy because of this. Most forms of CMT have that 50/50% chance of passing it on to each child.

Muscular Dystrophy is a disease directly of the muscle itself and thus causes weakness of varying degrees (there are many forms of MD. Obviously, people who have MD know this.

I can trace CMT back to my great, great grandmother. This is on my Mom's side. It was never hid from me and I was aware of it from an early age having seen it in my grandfather, my Mom, and her brother. CMT can and does vary greatly in severity, even within the same family. My symptoms did not appear until later in life, my Mom was in her late 30's, her father in his 60's and her brother when he was 10. Symptoms can come on when you are young, old, or in-between or they can be so mild that you do not know that you even have CMT but you can pass it on. No one, not even a doctor can predict how you will end up. CMT is complicated and they are finding more information all of the time. There is DNA blood testing for about 10 types now. There are 33 genes they have discovered for CMT and 44 not discovered. The first DNA blood testing was in 1993. There is much research going on that people aren't aware of. Much has been done and found in the past 12-15 years. CMT was first discovered in 1886 and named for the three doctors Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, and Howard Henry Tooth. By the way, Charcot also discovered ALS and had to do with Parkinson's and other diseases.

Just thought I would share.

Kitt