Q: My aunt's daughter is 10 years old. She is suffering from neurofibromatosis the nerve tumour disease. She is mentally handicapped because at the birth, water entered her brain but disappeared later. The nerve tumours on her body have increased. They are increasing day by day. Doctors say that they can remove the tumours but it is a temporary treatment. Please suggest a remedy for this problem.

A:Neurofibromatosis of the kind described by you is associated with a defective gene. It is an acutely distressing disease. I am afraid I do not know of any definitive therapy to prevent the tumours from growing. The best that can be done under the present circumstances is to remove those tumours that are causing problems e.g. a tumour compressing the spinal cord or important nerves. Unfortunately, other tumours may continue to grow. If and when they - in turn - cause problems, they would have to be removed surgically.