News

CMT Awareness Focuses on Education, Fundraising in September

From switching out Facebook frames and viewing educational videos, to attending “band” exercise classes and rounding up purchases to the next dollar to benefit research and community programming, supporters are marking Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Awareness Month, observed every September. According to advocates, calling attention to the group of inherited peripheral…

Study: Mitochondrial Fragmentation May Be Therapeutic Target in CMT2B

Rab7A, the faulty enzyme behind Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2B (CMT2B), regulates the structure and movement of mitochondria, the cells’ powerhouses, according to a new study in patient-derived and mouse cells carrying a CMT2B-causing mutation. Also, the mutated Rab7A enzyme was found to promote mitochondrial fragmentation — the breakup of…

New Virtual CMT Genetic Testing Program Seeks to Improve Access

A collaboration between Genome Medical and the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation has led to a virtual initiative that seeks to reduce genetic testing barriers for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease patients. The new Charcot-Marie-Tooth Genie Project genetic testing program aims to provide the CMT community and its healthcare providers with…

AAT Protein Found to Protect Nerve Cells in CMT1A Mouse Study

Treatment with a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) protects nerve cells and lowers inflammation in a mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A), a study has found. Lab experiments showed that the treatment, derived from human blood (hAAT), may exert its protective effects on nerve cells by preserving…

Black Pepper Compound May Help Restore Mitochondria in CMT2A

Piperine — the molecule that gives black pepper its pungent odor — and other chemically similar compounds can enhance cellular processes whose dysfunction are thought to underlie Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), a study has found. In their ability to enhance the function of mitochondria — which produce energy…

Gene Therapy for CMT1B Wins CMT Research Foundation Grant

The CMT Research Foundation has granted over $500,000 to help develop a gene therapy for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1B (CMT1B). The grant was awarded to Afrooz Rashnonejad, PhD, principal investigator at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Gene Therapy and a professor at the Ohio State University’s department of…

Global CMT Research Convention on Tap for Sept 16–17 in Cambridge, MA

Treatments for all types of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) will be the focus of the second annual Global CMT Research Convention, Sept. 16 and 17, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Presented by the CMT Research Foundation, the event brings together patients, scientists, and biopharmaceutical companies to celebrate treatment advancements and the pioneers…