Purpose of review: To report the findings in 12 members over 3 generations of a family with dominantly inherited Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT1B) due to a novel MPZ mutation, who all had moderately severe selective impairment of vestibular function with normal hearing. Methods used were video head impulse testing of the function of all 6 semicircular canals, Romberg test on foam, nerve conduction studies, and whole exome and Sanger sequencing.
Recent findings: All affected patients had a demyelinating neuropathy and a novel MPZ mutation: c.362A>G (chr1: 161276584, p.D121G). All also had normal hearing for age but a moderately severe impairment of semicircular canal function and a positive Romberg test on foam.
Summary: Some CMT mutations can impair vestibular function, presumably because of a vestibular nerve involvement but spare hearing. In such patients, impairment of vestibular function and impairment of proprioception contribute to imbalance.
Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.