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 type 1 (NF1), where diagnosis was made by dermatologic parameters. Twenty-five were probands in whom no ophthalmologic signs of NF1 were observed. Iris (Lisch) nodules, which were present in 63% of all cases with NF1, had a direct relationship to age, reaching an incidence of 88% in patients older than age 40. The presence of Lisch nodules correlated with age and the presence of cutaneous neurofibromas, but not with cafe-au-lait spots and axillary/inguinal freckling.