The gene is considered the basic unit of inheritance. Genes are passed from parents to their children and contain the information needed to specify physical and biological traits. Most genes code for specific proteins, or segments of proteins, which have differing functions within the body. Humans have approximately 20,000 protein-coding genes. In CMT, the disease is caused by mutations in specific genes, and because genes pass from parent to child, CMT is an inheritable disease.
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.
