A MULTICENTER STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS ON CHARCOT-MARIE-TOOTH NEUROPATHY TYPE 1A OF A COMPOSITE TREADMILL, STRETCHING AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE (TRESPE) REHABILITATION PROGRAM

Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1A (CMT1A) is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders. The study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of an innovative rehabilitation protocol constituted by exercises at the treadmill and by a stretching and proprioceptive approach. A total of 92 patients will be enrolled in the study and treated in a controlled, randomized, single blind, way. To recruit a high number of CMT1A patients the study will be multicentric and will comprehend four of the most active clinical centers in the field of CMT, in Italy. CMT patients are very motivated in entering rehabilitation protocols because to date there is no effective therapy for this disease. Therefore, we expect a high compliance by the patients. With the present project we plan to clarify several unanswered questions: 1) the efficacy and safety of treadmill over a more conventional protocol; 2) the duration and frequency of any rehabilitation treatment; 3) the most sensitive outcome measures to evaluate the efficacy of rehabilitation approach in CMT patients