FIG4 Wobbly Mouse photo link

[Guest guest]

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Gene Identified

There is a good photo of the mouse with the FIG4 Charcot-Marie-Tooth

disease mutation at this link (4th story on the page) (the poor

mouse's legs show the new mutation)

http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/biobeat/07-07-18/#4

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a common inherited neurological

disorder that often leads to pain and muscle weakness in the feet

and legs. After three years of scientific sleuthing, geneticist

Miriam Meisler of the University of Michigan has identified a

previously unknown cause of the disease—a mutation in a gene called

FIG4. Meisler's team discovered that a strain of laboratory mice

with a wobbly gait had mutations in FIG4. Additional studies showed

that a number of people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease also had

this genetic change. The discovery could lead to a genetic test for

one form of the condition and to new strategies for treating its

symptoms.

This work was also supported by NIH's National Institute of

Neurological Disorders and Stroke.