Brain and CMT

[Guest guest]

I hope your not letting this get to you. I think if this was true about CMT it

would be very well known by neurologists. I have never heard of this. I have

seen my fair share of doctors and even had an MRI. My brain was very healthy.

Many doctors do not know about CMT and assume too much.

[Guest guest]

Jackie,

Well, no, I haven't heard of a shrinking brain associated with CMT. I

remember two papers in particular from last year about white matter

lesions found on an MRI in a person with CMT. The conclusion was that

this might depend on an autoimmune mechanism, not yet clarified. The

other paper was about the Brain and CMT Type X that showed mild

transient white matter lesions allied to CNS symptoms. The conclusion

on this stated " This is of potential interest, as Cx32 is widely

expressed in both peripheral nerve and the brain " .

As for my own brain, after a horse accident and concussion followed

by an MDI, the docs found enlarged brain ventricles. I had no idea

what that meant at the time and forgot about it. I've been fine ever since.

Then there was the paper by Goetz on Jean- Charcot and the aging brain.

Arch Neurol. 2002 Nov;59(11):1821-4 I read this, but can't remember what it was

about. I think it was more about Charcot's brain and not the CMT person's aging

brain, though.

In the year 2000, there was an Italian study where the authors describe a unique

combination of cranial nerve deficits in one member of a Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1

family carrying an EGR2 mutation (Arg381His).

In 1995, there was a paper on CMT/HMSN associated with cerebellar

atrophy:a new disease. J Neurol Sci. 1995 Nov;133(1-2):140-51

A long answer to your short question! Anything I have seen in past newsletters

just encourages those of us with CMT to use our brains (our best muscle) to

think about making our lives easier.

Remember too, there is still much we don't know about CMT, the brain, etc. I

hope you won't let your girlfriend, the self-styled expert, continue to diagnose

this woman.

And sorry I am not much more help on this here. Maybe if I think about this

overnight I will be of more help.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

and Gretchen,

It came up because she really wanted me to meet her mother but then felt like I

would get too upset. I asked her why would I be upset meeting someone with CMT

and that I knew that she would probably not remember me. It is then that she

told me about the brain. It was kind of strange; because of the fact that she

thought it would upset me is what made me start thinking about something that

had never crossed my mind.

I am not upset about it. Sometimes I think I would look forward to not

remembering! (I am really just kidding and do not mean to make light of it, but

I do handle my problems with humor!)

I think it is those of us that do not have CMT are the ones that jump to

conclusions, such as family, friends AND doctors.

Thank you for giving us a forum to dispell any rumors!

Jackie