LISCH NODULES IN NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE-1 - RELATIONSHIP TO AGE AND CUTANEOUS NEUROFIBROMAS

The authors carried out an ophthalmologic and dermatologic study of 60 patients. Thirty-five patients were affected with neurofibromatosis t ype 1 (NF1), where diagnosis was made by dermatologic parameters. Twen ty-five were probands in whom no ophthalmologic signs of NF1 were obse rved. Iris (Lisch) nodules, which were present in 63% of all cases wit h NF1, had a direct relationship to age, reaching an incidence of 88% in patients older than age 40. The presence of Lisch nodules correlate d with age and the presence of cutaneous neurofibromas, but not with c afe-au-lait spots and axillary/inguinal freckling.