Charcot arthropathy of the foot is a rare but devastating complication of diabetes that remains to be a challenging issue for the foot and ankle surgeons. Charcot foot fails to be an obvious diagnostic option that comes to mind, even in a pathognomonic clinical appearance. The rarity of the disorder, more common pathologies that mimic the condition, and the self-limiting prognosis deviate the c...

I read with great interest the recent article by Mabilleau and Edmonds on the role of neuropathy on fracture healing in Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy. There are, however, some inconsistencies that need to be addressed: on p 84, the authors state that “the aetiopathogenesis of diabetic Charco neuro-osteoarthropathy is still unclear” , while on p 87 they claim it begins with “trauma leading to i...

While Alfred Vulpian (1826-1887) is not completely forgotten, he cannot match the uninterrupted celebrity which Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) still enjoys today. After becoming interne (residents) at the same institute in 1848, both were involved in shaping the cradle of what would become modern neurology. Both started work as chiefs at a La Salpêtrière service on January 1, 1862, making comm...

The etiology of diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy involving the midfoot often includes an inciting traumatic event or repetitive micro-trauma from an uncompensated biomechanical imbalance that potentiates an incompletely understood pathway leading to a rocker-bottom foot deformity and ulceration. In the setting of a severe Charcot foot fracture and/or dislocation with obvious osseous instabilit...

The goal of this study was to characterize Charcot neuroarthropathy of the foot and ankle by specific sites of involvement (ankle, hindfoot, midfoot, and forefoot), modes of presentation, methods of management, and outcome. A summary of treatment and results for 50 ankles, 22 hindfeet, 131 midfeet, and 18 forefeet is presented. Nondisplaced neuropathic ankle fractures typically healed uneventfu...

OBJECTIVE Despite increased information on the importance of an inappropriate inflammatory response in the acute Charcot process, there has been no previous attempt to define the specific pathways that mediate its pathogenesis. Here, the role played by monocytes was analyzed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The immune phenotype of peripheral monocytes was studied by fluorescence-activated cell so...