Charcot-marie-tooth disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a hereditary disorder marked by slowly progressive muscle weakness in the feet, lower legs, hands and forearms, and a mild loss of sensation in limbs, fingers, and toes. The weakness results from the degeneration of nerves that stimulate muscle rather than from a degenerative process in the muscle tissue itself.

The disorder, named for 3 physicians who first identified it in 1886, is also known as peroneal muscular atrophy because it primarily affects the peroneal muscles, which are located in the lower leg.

It is an inherited disorder with no known cure.