More people suffer from NF than Muscular Dystrophy,

Tay-Sachs and Huntington's Disease combined.

So why have you never heard of it? NF, a progressive disorder, affects all ethnic groups and both sexes equally. The effects of NF are unpredictable and the symptoms have varying degrees of severity. 

NF is something you're born with. There are three genetically distinct forms of neurofibromatosis: type 1 (NF-1) and type 2 (NF-2), and schwannomatosis. NF-1 is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States - striking one in every 3,000 births and 1.5 million people worldwide. NF-2 is less common - striking one in every 25,000 births, and schwannomatosis is even more rare, affecting approximately one in every 45,000 births.

NF is not contagious- it cannot be caught. Some of the signs of NF do not appear until later in life, often around puberty or in adulthood. About half the people with NF inherited the disorder from an affected parent. The other fifty percent occurs in families where there is no history of the disorder.

Research is the key. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for NF. Although,  there is a lot of promising research happening right now - both locally and worldwide.