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Neurofibromatosis treatment

Did you know that your body houses a complex system of communication with many moving parts? Well, it does and that system is also called your nervous system. Your nervous system made up of three sets of tissues. One set carries information from your sense into your brain, another set takes that information and interprets it and the last set work together to make your body move—sometimes as a direct result of the message the other nerve sets carried and interpreted. In short, your nerve systems and nerve tissue are vital tools that help keep you alive, reactive and functioning.

Unfortunately, there is a disease that causes the tissue along your nerves to grow without stopping. This disease is called neurofibromatosis and it can cause chronic pain, loss of mobility and other symptoms.

What the Causes and Symptoms of Neurofibromatosis?
Neurofibromatosis is a disease that affects one of every 4000 people and can be inherited from either parent. Anyone with neurofibromatosis present in their system has a 50% chance of having a child with the disease. Sometimes, there is no family history of Neurofibromatosis and yet it still occurs in a child. This is likely the result of a mutation of the egg or sperm.

• The main symptom of neurofibromatosis is continuous tissue growth on your nerves. Of course, this single symptom starts a domino effect of resulting symptoms that can have a serious impact on the life of the person with the disease. These symptoms include:
• Nerve damage
• Movement limitations
• Convulsions
• Blindness
• Tumors that appear underneath the skin
• Pain

Unfortunately, because the tissue growth can have compromised cells sometimes the tumors become malignant, so constant cancer screenings are necessary.

Not all symptoms of neurofibromatosis result in pain or impacted mobility. Some of them, like some of the tumors, are visible but completely painless. One of the most disturbing of these symptoms is freckles or tan patches of skin in the groin or underarm area. Of course, freckles in these areas do not guarantee the presence of neurofibromatosis so it is important to consult a physician if you find any. Some neurofibromatosis sufferers have even experienced skin lesions and nodules in their iris.

Diagnosis of Neurofibromatosis
In order to diagnose neurofibromatosis, a physician will first review the family history to find whether or not others have the disease. They will then examine the patient’s vision and hearing. X-rays, MRIs and EEGs are also very effective tools in diagnosing neurofibromatosis. Once diagnosed, even if you have no limiting or painful symptoms, you need to visit your physician annually to check on any possible tumor growth.

Neurofibromatosis Treatment
Once your primary care physician has done all the screening tests to determine that you have neurofibromatosis it is time to discuss neurofibromatosis treatment options. Unfortunately, the only real neurofibromatosis treatment is to remove any tumors that occur. Of course, if a patient is suffering from pain or one of the other symptoms that don’t involve tumors, this can be quite frustrating.

Some of the non tumor related pain can be eased with pain medications. Unfortunately, patients on pain medications for neurofibromatosis treatment may begin to build up a tolerance to them that renders them ineffective. In addition, pain medications can be addictive. Your physician may have some non-medicinal pain techniques to help you deal with any neurofibromatosis pain you experience. While non-traditional pain treatment techniques may not seem like neurofibromatosis treatment, they can help the sufferer live a more fulfilling life free of pain medication dependency. Of course in some cases, these techniques are not an acceptable solution so work with your physician to develop a plan that works for you.

Last updated on Jul 20th, 2010 and filed under Neurological Disorders. Both comments and pings are currently closed.