Inherited Peripheral Neuropathy

ABSTRACT

Hereditary disorders of the peripheral nerves constitute a group of frequently encountered neurological diseases. Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1 (CMT1) is genetically heterogeneous and characterized by demyelination with moderately to severely reduced nerve conduction velocities, absent muscle stretch reflexes and onion bulb formation. Genetic loci for CMT1 map to chromosome 17 (CMT1A), chromosome 1 (CMT1B), and another unknown autosome (CMT1C). CMT1A is most often associated with a tandem 1.5-megabase (Mb) duplication in chromosome 17p11.2-12, or in rare patients may result from a point mutation in the peripheral myelin protein-22 (PMP22) gene. CMT1B result from point mutations in the myelin protein zero (P₀ or MPZ) gene. The molecular defect in CMT1C is unknown. Mutations in the early growth response 2 gene (EGR2) are also associated with demyelinating neuropathy. Other rare forms of demyelinating peripheral neuropathies map to chromosome 8q, 10q, and 11q. X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy (CMTX), which has clinical features similar to CMT1, is associated with mutations in the connexin32 gene. Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 2 (CMT2) is characterized by normal or mildly reduced nerve conduction velocity with decreased amplitude and axonal loss without hypertrophic features. One form of CMT2 maps to chromosome 1p36 (CMT2A), another to chromosome 3p (CMT2B) and another to 7p (CMT2D). Dejerine-Sottas disease (DSD), also called hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type III (HMSNIII), is a severe, infantile-onset demyelinating polyneuropathy that may be associated with point mutations in either the PMP22 gene or the Po gene and shares considerable clinical and pathological features with CMT1. Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) is an autosomal dominant disorder that results in a recurrent, episodic demyelinating neuropathy. HNPP is associated with a 1.5-Mb deletion in chromosome 17p11.2-12 and results from reduced expression of the PMP22. CMT1A and HNPP are reciprocal duplication/deletion syndromes originating from unequal crossover during germ cell meiosis.