Neurofibromatosis symptoms vary depending on the type. NF1 causes bumps on the skin, brown spots, and bone deformities. NF2 causes hearing loss, poor balance, and tumors on cranial nerve number eight. Schwannomatosis causes chronic pain and tumors on nerves. All types are genetic.
Symptoms of neurofibromatosis vary depending on whether a patient has neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), or schwannomatosis. Symptoms of NF1 include the appearance of bumps called neurofibromas on the skin, six or more brown-colored spots on the surface of the skin, and deformities of the spine, skull, or tibia, which is a bone in the shin bone. Symptoms of NF2 include weakness or numbness in the limbs, hearing loss, and poor balance. The main symptoms of schwannomatosis are pain and general numbness or weakness that occurs throughout the body. Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disease, which means it is inherited.
NF1 is the most common form of neurofibromatosis and tends to appear in childhood. Symptoms of neurofibromatosis in children range from cosmetic problems like brown spots on the skin to serious problems like impaired learning ability and abnormal bone growth. Sometimes children develop freckled areas in the groin and armpits by the age of five. NF1 causes neurofibromas, benign tumors of the nerves that appear as bumps under a patient’s skin. Children who have NF1 are often shorter than average, but have larger-than-normal skulls.
Symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 2 usually begin in late adolescence or young adulthood. This type of neurofibromatosis occurs as a result of tumors that develop on cranial nerve number eight, which is important for balance and hearing. Patients suffering from NF2 experience gradual hearing loss and sometimes tinnitus, which is a ringing heard in the ears. Additional symptoms of neurofibromatosis associated with NF2 are loss of coordination and balance. With NF2, additional tumors can develop throughout the body, especially on the optic or spinal nerves. Neurofibromatosis symptoms in adults cause problems such as cataracts and weakness, as well as numbness affecting the legs and arms.
The third type of neurofibromatosis, schwannomatosis, was originally thought to be a variant of NF2, but has since been recognized as a type in its own right. The onset of schwannomatosis tends to occur when a patient is in their 20s or 30s. In its symptoms, schwannomatosis is similar to NF2 in that it can cause tumors to grow on the spinal, optic, and peripheral nerves, but unlike NF2, it does not affect cranial nerve number eight and therefore does not cause hearing loss. Schwannomatosis is so called because it causes the development of schwannomas, tumors that grow on nerves and sometimes grow large enough to displace those nerves, causing chronic pain throughout the patient’s body. Additional neurofibromatosis symptoms associated with schwannomatosis include weakness, numbness, and tingling in a patient’s toes and fingers.
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