Charcot-Marie-Tooth-Disease (cont.)

The NINDS supports research on CMT and other peripheral neuropathies in an effort to learn how to better treat, prevent, and even cure these disorders. Ongoing research includes efforts to identify more of the mutant genes and proteins that cause the various disease subtypes, efforts to discover the mechanisms of nerve degeneration and muscle atrophy with the hope of developing interventions to stop or slow down these debilitating processes, and efforts to find therapies to reverse nerve degeneration and muscle atrophy.

One promising area of research involves gene therapy experiments. Research with cell cultures and animal models has shown that it is possible to deliver genes to Schwann cells and muscle. Another area of research involves the use of trophic factors or nerve growth factors, such as the hormone androgen, to prevent nerve degeneration.

SOURCE: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Fact Sheet.
<http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/charcot_marie_tooth/detail_charcot_marie_tooth.htm>

Last Editorial Review: 5/12/2010

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/charcot-marie-tooth-disease/article.htm