F-wave latency is the time it takes for an electrical signal to travel from a stimulation point along a motor nerve all the way to the spinal cord and back to the muscle. Because it covers the full length of the nerve, it is one of the most sensitive readings in a nerve conduction study, able to reveal slowing that shorter measurements miss. In CMT, F-wave latency is often prolonged, and it can even be absent, reflecting how far along the nerve the disease reaches.
A Name That Does Too Much Work
Jean-Martin Charcot's name appears throughout medicine, but nowhere does it create more confusion than in the foot. Learn why the CMT foot and Charcot neuroarthropathy, also known as Charcot foot, share a name yet differ in how they develop, appear, and are managed.
