Two French publications suggest that an inflammatory mechanism may be involved in certain forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), which are generally considered to be exclusively genetically determined.
- Four patients with CMT 1A followed up at two reference centres developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, which progressed favourably overall. The high frequency of this association (4 cases in 5 years in two French regions, compared with 1 case expected every 137 years if the two diseases were independent) suggests that CMT1A could be a risk factor for Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- Two patients with CMT 4A from islands in the Indian Ocean showed signs of inflammation, suggesting Guillain-Barré syndrome in one of them.
These observations reinforce the hypothesis that an inflammatory process contributes to nerve damage in certain forms of CMT.
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