Abstract
There have been suggestions from previous studies that patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) have weaker dominant hand muscles. Since all studies to date have included a heterogeneous group of CMT...
Highlights
The degree of hand weakness in neurological diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is of particular importance since it has a large impact on day to day functioning and quality of life [1]
We showed that the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle was weaker than first dorsal interosseous (FDIO), confirming previous suggestions that there is a greater impact on median nerve function compared to the ulnar nerve [9,14]
One would expect that overwork would exert its effects over time so that differences should increase with age; our patient sample size was not large enough to assess the effect of patient age, or disease severity, measured by the CMT neuropathy score (CMTNS), on hand strength
Summary
The degree of hand weakness in neurological diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is of particular importance since it has a large impact on day to day functioning and quality of life [1]. A study of 124 patients suggested that patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) might be susceptible to overwork weakness when comparing the strength of dominant to non-dominant hand muscles [2]. It was used to explain apparent activity-dependent weakness that developed in patients with post-polio syndrome [4]. It has been described in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy [5]. Trials of exercise in patients with CMT, myotonic dystrophy, Guillain–Barresyndrome, chronic inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and even post-polio syndrome have not shown deterioration in muscle strength [6,7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
