Effects of Conventional Therapy on Quality Of Life in CMT Disease. Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Up to now, only symptoms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease can be treated. This work investigates which therapy is the most effective in Quality of Life in Charcot-Marie-Tooth. Methods: A literature research was conducted (search terms “Whole Body Vibration” or “WBV” or “Exercise” or “Rehabilitation” and “Charcot Marie Tooth” or “CMT” or “Hereditary Neuropathy” or “HMSN”) in five online databases. Inclusion: Publications from January 1990 to April 2022. Exclusion: No conventional treatment or Charcot-Marie-Tooth. Methodological quality: assessed by PEDro score. Effect sizes: calculated by Standardized Mean Differences and 95 % Confidence Intervals. Results: Of the 5,941 publications found, 17 focused conventional treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease of whom four had a good quality and investigated Quality of Life. No study investigates Whole Body Vibration. There is no effect (SMD = .29) in health related Quality of Life, a low effect (SMD = -.42) in Activities of Daily Living favoring experimental groups and no effect (SMD = .13) in Disability favoring control groups. Conclusions: These interventions cannot improve Quality of Life in Charcot-Marie-Tooth. Since no studies investigated "Whole Body Vibration" in Charcot-Marie-Tooth, this should be done as well as a motor ability training program. Such studies are in planning.