Neurofibromas become evident at around 10 to 15 years of age. In most cases, symptoms are mild and patients live normal and productive lives. In some cases, however, NF1 can be severely debilitating. Symptoms and severity of the disorder may vary among members of affected families. Treatments are presently aimed at controlling symptoms.
Surgery can help some bone malformations.
For scoliosis, bone surgery may be combined with back braces. This less common of the neurofibromatoses affects about 1 in 40,000 persons. It was formerly called bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis or central neurofibromatosis because the tumors, which cause progressive hearing loss, were thought to grow primarily on the auditory nerve, a branch of the eighth cranial nerve responsible for hearing. Scientists now know that the tumors typically occur on the vestibular nerve, another branch of the eighth cranial nerve near the auditory nerve. The tumors, called vestibular schwannomas for their location and for the type of cells in them, cause pressure damage to neighboring nerves.