Neurofibromatosis can cause a wide range of signs and symptoms depending on the severity of the condition. The manifestations of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF 1) generally appear in early childhood and affect the skin, eyes, bones, veins, and nerves. Symptoms include:
- Café-au-lait spots (light brown patches of pigment on the skin)
- Freckles in the underarm or groin area
- Neurofibromas (benign skin tumors that may also be found on nerves and organs)
- Lisch nodules (small tumors on the iris), or glaucoma
- Hearing loss
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Scoliosis or other bone abnormalities
- Facial pain or numbness
- Learning disabilities or hyperactivity
- Rarely, brain tumors or aneurysms
Symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) often don’t appear until adolescence or early adulthood and include:
- Hearing loss
- Headaches
- Vision changes
- Cataracts
- Problems with facial movements
- Difficulty with balance and walking
- Seizures
- Neurofibromas and café-au-lait spots
Neurofibromatosis, whether Type 1 or Type 2, is a complicated disorder that is best treated at a major medical center with a multidisciplinary Neurofibromatosis Program that ensures each patient a comprehensive treatment plan.
Our Care Team
- Vice Chairman, Neurological Surgery
- Director, Pediatric Neurological Surgery
Phone: 212-746-2363
- Vice Chairman for Academic Affairs
- Professor of Neurological Surgery, Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Associate Residency Director
Phone: 212-746-2363
- Chief of Neurological Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist
- Alvina and Willis Murphy Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery
- Director, Brain Metastases Program
- Co-director, William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma
Phone: 212-746-1996
- Chairman and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief
- Margaret and Robert J. Hariri, MD ’87, PhD ’87 Professor of Neurological Surgery
- Vice Provost of Business Affairs and Integration
Phone: 212-746-4684
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Greenfield, Ph.D., M.D.
Last reviewed/last updated: April 2021