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Illustration of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves

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    • Services and providers for Neurofibromatosis in the U.S.

  • National Institutes of Health

Also called: Recklinghausen’s disease, von Recklinghausen’s disease

Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder of the nervous system. It mainly affects how nerve cells form and grow. It causes tumors to grow on nerves. You can get neurofibromatosis from your parents, or it can happen because of a mutation (change) in your genes. Once you have it, you can pass it along to your children.

There are three types of neurofibromatosis:

  • Type 1 (NF1) causes skin changes and deformed bones and usually starts at birth.
  • Type 2 (NF2) causes hearing loss, ringing in the ears and poor balance. It often starts in the teen years.
  • Schwannomatosis causes intense pain. It is the rarest type.

There is no cure. Treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms. Depending on the type of disease and how bad it is, treatment may include surgery to remove tumors, radiation therapy and medicines.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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National Institutes of Health | Department of Health & Human Services 		Date last updated: 29 July 2008
Topic last reviewed: 18 April 2008