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Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is a rare disease that causes tumors and cysts to grow in your body. They can grow in your brain and spinal cord, kidneys, pancreas, adrenal glands, and reproductive tract. The tumors are usually benign (non-cancerous). But some tumors, such as those in the kidney and pancreas, can become cancerous.

Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is a genetic disease. It is inherited, which means that it is passed down from parent to child.

Symptoms of VHL depend on the size and location of the tumors. They may include:

• Headaches
• Problems with balance and walking
• Dizziness
• Weakness of the limbs
• Vision problems
• High blood pressure

Detecting and treating VHL early is important. Your health care provider may suspect that you have VHL if you have certain patterns of cysts and tumors. There is a genetic test for VHL. If you have it, you will need other tests, including imaging tests, to look for tumors and cysts.

Treatment can vary, depending on the location and size of the tumors and cysts. It usually involves surgery. Certain tumors may be treated with radiation therapy. The goal is to treat growths while they are small and before they do permanent damage. You will need to have careful monitoring by a doctor and/or medical team familiar with the disorder.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Platelets, also known as thrombocytes, are blood cells. They form in your bone marrow, a sponge-like tissue in your bones. Platelets play a major role in blood clotting. Normally, when one of your blood vessels is injured, you start to bleed. Your platelets will clot (clump together) to plug the hole in the blood vessel and stop the bleeding. You can have different problems with your platelets:

• If your blood has a low number of platelets, it is called thrombocytopenia. This can put you at risk for mild to serious bleeding. The bleeding could be external or internal. There can be various causes. If the problem is mild, you may not need treatment. For more serious cases, you may need medicines or blood or platelet transfusions.
• If your blood has too many platelets, you may have a higher risk of blood clots.
• When the cause is unknown, this is called thrombocythemia. It is rare. You may not need treatment if there are no signs or symptoms. In other cases, people who have it may need treatment with medicines or procedures.
• If another disease or condition is causing the high platelet count, it is thrombocytosis. The treatment and outlook for thrombocytosis depends on what is causing it.
• Another possible problem is that your platelets do not work as they should. For example, in von Willebrand Disease, your platelets cannot stick together or cannot attach to blood vessel walls. This can cause excessive bleeding. There are different types of in von Willebrand Disease; treatment depends on which type you have.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder of the nervous system. It mainly affects how nerve cells form and grow. It causes tumors to grow on nerves. You can get neurofibromatosis from your parents, or it can happen because of a mutation (change) in your genes. Once you have it, you can pass it along to your children. Usually the tumors are benign, but sometimes they can become cancerous.

There are three types of neurofibromatosis:

• Type 1 (NF1) causes skin changes and deformed bones. It usually starts in childhood. Sometimes the symptoms are present at birth.
• Type 2 (NF2) causes hearing loss, ringing in the ears, and poor balance. Symptoms often start in the teen years.
• Schwannomatosis causes intense pain. It is the rarest type.

Doctors diagnose the different types based on the symptoms. Genetic testing is also used to diagnose NF1 and NF2. There is no cure. Treatment can help control symptoms. Depending on the type of disease and how serious it is, treatment may include surgery to remove tumors, radiation therapy, and medicines.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Metabolism is the process your body uses to make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system (enzymes) break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues. If you have a metabolic disorder, something goes wrong with this process.

Carbohydrate metabolism disorders are a group of metabolic disorders. Normally your enzymes break carbohydrates down into glucose (a type of sugar). If you have one of these disorders, you may not have enough enzymes to break down the carbohydrates. Or the enzymes may not work properly. This causes a harmful amount of sugar to build up in your body. That can lead to health problems, some of which can be serious. Some of the disorders are fatal.

These disorders are inherited. Newborn babies get screened for many of them, using blood tests. If there is a family history of one of these disorders, parents can get genetic testing to see whether they carry the gene. Other genetic tests can tell whether the fetus has the disorder or carries the gene for the disorder.

Treatments may include special diets, supplements, and medicines. Some babies may also need additional treatments, if there are complications. For some disorders, there is no cure, but treatments may help with symptoms.

Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.

There are many kinds of liver diseases:

• Diseases caused by viruses, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C
• Diseases caused by drugs, poisons, or too much alcohol. Examples include fatty liver disease and cirrhosis.
• Liver cancer
• Inherited diseases, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease

Symptoms of liver disease can vary, but they often include swelling of the abdomen and legs, bruising easily, changes in the color of your stool and urine, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Tests such as imaging tests and liver function tests can check for liver damage and help to diagnose liver diseases.

The brain, spinal cord, and nerves make up the nervous system. Together they control all the workings of the body. When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing, or learning. You can also have problems with your memory, senses, or mood.

There are more than 600 neurologic diseases. Major types include:

• Diseases caused by faulty genes, such as Huntington's disease and muscular dystrophy
• Problems with the way the nervous system develops, such as spina bifida
• Degenerative diseases, where nerve cells are damaged or die, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
• Diseases of the blood vessels that supply the brain, such as stroke
• Injuries to the spinal cord and brain
• Seizure disorders, such as epilepsy
• Cancer, such as brain tumors
• infections, such as meningitis