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CMT Awareness Month Quiz – How Many Will You Get Right?

Last year, I worked on a version of this quiz for CMT Awareness month. I decided to revamp the quiz by adding a few more questions, rephrasing some of the questions and adding detailed answers. I hope you enjoy the quiz and share with others to spread awareness of CMT.

1) If you suspect you have Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, who would you go see?

a) A shark expert

b) A dentist

c) A psychiatrist

d) A neurologist

2) What year was CMT discovered?
a) 1836

b) 1886

c) 1942

d) 2010

3) How many people are estimated to have CMT worldwide?

a) 45 million

b) 2.8 billion

c) 150,000

d) 3 million

4) CMT is a:

a) blood disease

b) neurological disease

c) infectious disease

d) autoimmune disease

5) What causes CMT?

a) virus

b) the cause is unknown

c) gene mutations

d) parasites

6) Can someone have CMT if neither of their parents has it?

a) Yes

b) No

7) CMT:

a) progresses over time

b) can, in some cases, cause respiratory dysfunction

c) May cause curvature of the spine, or scoliosis

d) Is currently incurable

e) All of the above

f) None of the above

8) CMT affects:

a) the peripheral nerves (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord)

b) the brain & spinal cord

c) the teeth and gums

d) the voice of most Country Music singers

9) Nerve damage caused by CMT can lead to:

a) muscle wasting

b) loss of sensation

c) pain

d) difficulty with balance

e) all of the above

10) Common symptoms of CMT include:

a) drop foot, clumsiness, tripping

b) fatigue

c) difficulty holding grasping objects

d) high-arched feet, hammer toes

e) all of the above

11) This is what a typical CMT foot looks like:
True
False

12) CMT can affect the thenar muscles. Where are the thenar muscles found? 

a) foot

b) hand

c) shoulder

d) thigh

13) Many people with CMT wear AFOs to:

a) straighten their teeth

b) protect their backs

d) correct foot deformities and foot drop

e) Show off their cool western style

14) The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association’s overall mission is to what?

a) Feed the hungry

b) Broker world peace

c) Find treatments for CMT

d) Whiten the teeth of the masses

15) This star in the CMTA logo stands for what? 

a) A Cure for CMT

b) CMTA’s Research Program

c) Strategy to Accelerate Research

d) All of the above

Answers!! 

1). d –  Please see a neurologist. The CMTA has Centers of Excellence around the country who have multi-disciplinary teams specializing in CMT: https://www.cmtausa.org/resource-center/finding-help/cmta-centers-of-excellence/

2) b – In 1886,  Drs. Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie, and Henry Howard Tooth discovered CMT!

3)  d – It is estimated that more than 2.8 million people have CMT, worldwide.

4) b – CMT is a disease affecting the nerves which control the muscles ( unlike the muscular dystrophies which directly affect the muscles themselves).

5) c –  CMT is all about genes!

6) a –  CMT can develop as a result of a new mutation or spontaneous mutation. These cases are called “de novo.” A person who has a new mutation case can then pass the condition on to his/her children.

7) – e –  All the statements are true.

8) a – CMT is a group of inherited disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system, a network of motor and sensory nerves connecting the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) to the entire human body.

9) e – All the above. Yes, really!

10) e – CMT affects the longer nerves first; therefore, symptoms tend to start in the feet and hands and work their way up the legs and into the forearms, respectively.
Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Weakness in the feet, ankles and potentially legs
• Difficulty lifting the foot at the ankle during walking (foot drop)
• Depressed tendon reflexes
• Absence of development or loss of muscle bulk in feet and possibly legs
• Awkward or higher than normal step
• High foot arches (pes cavus)
• Curled toes
• Calluses and blisters on the feet
• Frequent tripping or falling
• Decreased ability to run
• Decreased sensation or a loss of feeling in feet and potentially up the legs
• Discomfort/pain in the feet
• Frequent twisting of the ankles
• Muscle cramping, especially in feet and lower legs
• Weakness in fingers and hands
• Decreased fine motor control
• Difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as using buttons and zippers
• Difficulty opening jars
• Decreased grip endurance
• Absence of development or loss of muscle bulk in hands and forearms
• Curling fingers
• Decreased sensation or loss of feeling in hands and potentially up the arms
• Tremor
• Overall fatigue
• Joint and/or nerve pain
• Hearing loss
• Breathing difficulties
• Sleep apnea
• Scoliosis (curved spine)
• Kyphosis (round back)

11)  True. CMT feet have very high arches and hammer toes, though some people with CMT can also have flat feet.

12 e –  The Hand!

13. d – Leg braces or AFOs (Ankle-Foot Orthoses) help with muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, foot drop and

balance. 

14)  The CMTA’s mission is to….. support the development of new
drugs to treat CMT, to improve the quality of life for
people with CMT, and, ultimately, to find a cure.

Our vision … a world without CMT.

15) – d  – All the Above!

STAR  or Strategy to Accelerate Research is the CMTA’s research initiative created with one goal in mind – to find treatments to slow, stop or reverse the progression of CMT.  Learn more  here: http://www.cmtausa.org

Let me know how many questions you got right! Got questions? Leave them in your comments!

SHARE with others. Teach family, friends, and colleagues about CMT during CMT Awareness Month!