The neurofibromatoses. What do we know about them?

These are exciting times for patients and physicians concerned with the neurofibromatoses. These disorders have been known to medicine for more than 100 years, and now there is hope of achieving a thorough understanding of their pathogenesis. Despite this optimism, the need for careful clinical management of these patients and for solid clinical research to better define the natural history of the disorders will remain for some time. Success of the research depends in large part on studying patients with carefully documented diagnoses, and long after the genes for the neurofibromatoses are identified, work will go on to apply the new knowledge to the benefit of those affected with the disorders.