A defect in a gene called dynamin 2 causes one form of the inherited nerve disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, according to a new study.Researchers at Duke University’s Center for Human Genetics, say they have also identified a previously unknown association between CMT and a deficiency of white blood cells. This suggests defects in dynamin 2 may be linked to both conditions.Dynamin 2 fulfills a number of functions in cells throughout the body, but this is the first time it has been implicated in human disease. The study appears in the Jan. 30 issue of Nature Genetics.
