A sensory nerve, also called an afferent nerve, carries information such as touch, temperature, and pain from the body inward to the brain and spinal cord. It is the counterpart to the motor nerve, which carries movement signals outward to the muscles. In CMT, the sensory nerves are affected along with the motor nerves, which is why numbness and reduced sensation in the feet and hands are common in the 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.
