CMT 1B: Diagnostic nerve ultrasound

[Guest guest]

Muscle Nerve. 2009 Jun 16;40(1):98-102.

Diagnostic nerve ultrasound in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1B.

Cartwright MS, Brown ME, Eulitt P, FO, Lawson VH, Caress JB.

Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical

Center Boulevard, Meads Hall, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.

Ultrasound is emerging as a useful tool for evaluation of neuromuscular

conditions, because it can provide high-resolution anatomic information to

complement electrodiagnostic data. There have been few studies in which

ultrasound was used to assess the peripheral nerves of individuals with

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and none involving CMT type 1B.

In this study we compared nerve cross-sectional area in individuals from a

single large family with CMT 1B with normal, healthy controls. We also assessed

for cranial nerve enlargement in those with CMT 1B with cranial neuropathies

compared to those with CMT 1B without cranial neuropathies.

Individuals with CMT 1B have significantly larger median and vagus nerves than

healthy controls, but no difference was seen in cranial nerve size between those

with versus those without cranial neuropathies. This is the first study to

characterize the ultrasonographic findings in the peripheral nerves of

individuals with CMT 1B.