Neurofibromatosis

The neurofibromatoses are genetic disorders of the nervous system that primarily affect the development and growth of neural (nerve) cell tissues. These disorders cause tumors to grow on nerves and produce other abnormalities such as skin changes and bone deformities. Although many affected persons inherit the disorder, between 30 and 50 percent of new cases arise spontaneously through mutation (change) in an individual's genes. Once this change has taken place, the mutant gene can be passed on to succeeding generations. Scientists have classified the disorders as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). NF1 is the more common type of the neurofibromatoses. In diagnosing NF1, a physician looks for changes in skin appearance, tumors, or bone abnormalities, and/or a parent, sibling, or chil with NF1. Symptoms of NF1, particularly those on the skin, are often evident at birth or during infancy and almost always by the time a child is about 10 years old. NF2 is less common. NF2 is characterized by bilateral (occurring on both sides of the body) tumors on the eighth cranial nerve. The tumors cause pressure damage to neighboring nerves. To determine whether an individual has NF2, a physician looks for bilateral eighth nerve tumors and similar signs and symptoms in a parent, sibling, or child. Affected individuals may notice hearing loss as early as the teen years. Other early symptoms may include tinnitus (ringing noise in the ear) and poor balance. Headache, facial pain, or facial numbness, caused by pressure from the tumors, may also occur.

Treatments for both NF1 and NF2 are presently aimed at controlling symptoms. Surgery can help some NF1 bone malformations and remove painful or disfiguring tumors; however, there is a chance that the tumors may grow back and in greater numbers. In the rare instances when tumors become malignant (3 to 5 percent of all cases), treatment may include surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. For NF2, improved diagnostic technologies, such as MRI, can reveal tumors as small as a few millimeters in diameter, thus allowing early treatment. Surgery to remove tumors completely is one option but may result in hearing loss. Other options include partial removal of tumors, radiation, and if the tumors are not progressing rapidly, the conservative approach of watchful waiting. Genetic testing is available for families with documented cases of NF1 and NF2. New (spontaneous) mutations cannot be confirmed genetically. Prenatal diagnosis of familial NF1 or NF2 is also possible utilizing amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling procedures.

In most cases, symptoms of NF1 are mild, and patients live normal and productive lives. In some cases, however, NF1 can be severely debilitating. In some cases of NF2, the damage to nearby vital structures, such as other cranial nerves and the brainstem, can be life-threatening.

Based on http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/neurofibro.htm

External link

National Neurofibromatosis Foundation Website

Commercial Usage: Neurofibromatosis

Photo Album: Neurofibromatosis

Non-Fiction Usage: Neurofibromatosis

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that can cause tumors in various parts of the nervous system. (references)
		It may be associated with other disorders such as dwarfism, neurofibromatosis, and tuberous sclerosis. (references)
		Scientists have classified the disorders as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). Other or variant types of the neurofibromatoses may exist, but are not yet identified. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions: Neurofibromatosis

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Neurofibromatosis

Rhyming with "Neurofibromatosis"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "neurofibromatosis" (pronounced nuh'rōfībrō'mutō"sus)
4	-ō" s u s	acidosis, apotheosis, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, cirrhosis, diagnosis, fibrosis, heterosis, hypnosis, meiosis, misdiagnosis, necrosis, nephrosis, neurosis, prognosis, psychosis, sclerosis, symbiosis, thrombosis, tuberculosis.
3	-s u s	amniocentesis, analysis, antithesis, archdiocese, axis, catharsis, census, colossus, consensus, crisis, dialysis, diocese, electrolysis, Genesis, geotaxis, glacis, homeostasis, hydrolysis, hypothesis, metamorphosis, morphogenesis, Narcissus, nemesis, nexus, organogenesis, photosynthesis, phototaxis, plexus, preadolescence, proboscis, prosthesis, psoriasis, psychoanalysis, psychokinesis, rhesus, synopsis, synthesis, Tarsus, telexes, Texas, thesis, urinalysis, versus.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Anagrams: Neurofibromatosis

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-b-e-f-i-i-m-n-o-o-o-r-r-s-s-t-u"
	-4 letters: neurofibromas.
	-5 letters: neurofibroma, reformations, sensorimotor.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Alternative Orthography: Neurofibromatosis

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

4E 65 75 72 6F 66 69 62 72 6F 6D 61 74 6F 73 69 73

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

⁼

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

-. . ..- .-. --- ..-. .. -... .-. --- -- .- - --- ... .. ...

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01001110 01100101 01110101 01110010 01101111 01100110 01101001 01100010 01110010 01101111 01101101 01100001 01110100 01101111 01110011 01101001 01110011

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#78 &#101 &#117 &#114 &#111 &#102 &#105 &#98 &#114 &#111 &#109 &#97 &#116 &#111 &#115 &#105 &#115

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

004E 0065 0075 0072 006F 0066 0069 0062 0072 006F 006D 0061 0074 006F 0073 0069 0073

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

Domain	Title
Books	Neurofibromatosis Type 1:: From Genotype to Phenotype (reference) Living With Genetic Disorder: The Impact of Neurofibromatosis 1 (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	[A severely affected neurofibromatosis patient].Credit: National Library of Medicine.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day
neurofibromatosis	348
neurofibromatosis picture	17
neurofibromatosis symptom	6
foundation neurofibromatosis	4
foundation national neurofibromatosis	4
neurofibromatosis treatment	4
2003 neurofibromatosis	3
neurofibromatosis photo	3
neurofibromatosis patient picture	3
neurofibromatosis 1	3
image neurofibromatosis	2
las neurofibromatosis	2
neurofibromatosis 2	2
anderson gillian neurofibromatosis	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Neurofibromatosis

Definition: Neurofibromatosis