Rare Diseases

  1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Rare Diseases
photo of Mary Kugler, R.N.

Rare Diseases Blog

By Mary Kugler, R.N., About.com Guide to Rare Diseases since 2000

Cardiac changes in children with neurofibromatosis

Thursday June 23, 2005
High blood pressure (hypertension) is often associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder in which tumors grow along nerves and on or under the skin. Researchers at the Second University of Naples wanted to know if hypertension causes damage to the heart in children with NF1. They studied 73 children with the disorder (mean age of 12 years) and 30 comparable healthy children. Of the children with NF1, 12 had hypertension. These twelve had significant tissue changes in their heart muscle compared to other children with NF1 or the healthy children. Based on these findings, the researchers recommend blood pressure monitoring and echocardiograms for children with NF1. The research was published in the May 25, 2005, issue of the International Journal of Cardiology.

Comments

No comments yet. Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Discuss

Community Forum

Explore Rare Diseases

About.com Special Features

Rare Diseases

  1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Rare Diseases

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.