Aside from the ‘silent hill’ attraction, one of my earliest memories along ADD St (the main street at ADD Compound) was when I came to meet a man on my way home from school. He has remarkable bumps all over his body and is scattered throughout his face which now appears disfigured.
Many would think he may have a contagious illness, which will compel you to cover nose or curb on the edgiest way to simply avoid him, I on the other hand never did. Besides, compound guards and personnel are very strict about permitting anyone to enter the gates; you can rest your confidence that they do their jobs well by ensuring protection and security among its inhabitants, which took me to the conclusion that the man is not at all contagious.
My focal concern was on the bumps itself. I’ve never seen such before. My innocence about the condition was only cracked open when I read an article in the Philippine Star about a woman who suffers from the same disease only different in classification and symptoms which they call NEUROFIBROMATOSIS. The latter suffers from NF2 Neurofibromatosis having the symptoms of deafness, paralysis and brain tumors while the former is categorized under NF1 or Neurofibromatosis Type 1.
Neurofibromatosis is characterized by the growth of tumors around the nerve tissues which can be harmless or may cause serious damage if nerves or tissues are compressed. Tumors excessively proliferate to areas with rich nerve supply such as the skin, and main parts of the Central Nervous System (CNS). These also interferes melanocyte function which result to disordered skin pigmentation. This very rare disease is usually genetically-inherited or cause can be traced through family history. In very extreme cases can occur through gene-mutation. Both men and women is equally affected (autosomal dominant) and in order to have the disease only one copy of the disordered gene is needed. Therefore, if one of the parents has neurofibromatosis at least 50% is the chance for their child to acquire the condition as well.
Inflicted Individuals commonly have bumps under the skin, colored spots, skeletal problems, pressure on the spinal nerve roots, and other neurological problems.
I made superficial research about the different classification of Neurofibromatosis to gain wider understanding of the pathology and symptoms like and unlike.
Neurofibromatosis Type 1
-This is characterized by the growth of neurofibromas (which are noncancerous (benign) tumors that are usually located on or just under the skin.) However, when tumors strike nerves along the spine can become cancerous and now dubbed as malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Malignancy happens usually on adolescence or adulthood period. Beginning early childhood, café-au-lait spots, a dark flat spots, Lisch nodule (a benign tumor developing in the colored part of the eye but don’t interfere vision operation), gliomas(tumor growing along the nerve path from eye to the brain and is responsible for vision reduction.) may occur.
-Additional signs and symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 1 include high blood pressure (hypertension), short stature, an unusually large head (macrocephaly), and skeletal abnormalities such as an abnormal curvature of the spine (scoliosis). Although most people with neurofibromatosis type 1 have normal intelligence, learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occur frequently in affected individuals.
Neurofibromatosis Type 2
-This type of neurofibromatosis,unfortunately, can turn someone out a bed-ridden like the woman I was referring above post. Schwannomas or acoustic neuromas, tumors that develop along the nerve that carries information from the inner to the brain, are mostly associated with NF2. The usual symptoms are hearing loss, ringing of ears or tinnitus, motion and balance problem. When an affected person reach the early thirties or any period depending on severity, complication becomes aggravating, changes in vision or sensation, numbness or weakness in the arms or legs, and fluid buildup in the brain. Some people with neurofibromatosis type 2 also develop clouding of the lens (cataracts) in one or both eyes, often beginning in childhood.
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