Vascular manifestations of von Recklinghausen's disease.

A casual relationship between von Recklinghausen's disease, or neurofibromatosis, and arteriolar abnormalities has been reported in the European literature. A patient was seen who had biopsy-proved neurofibromatosis and renovascular hypertension and retroperitoneal bleeding. An arteriographic study showed multiple small aneurysms throughout the coeliac axis, the superior mesenteric artery and in several small intrarenal vessels. Renal vein renin levels were elevated particularly in the right renal vein, supporting the diagnosis of renovascular hypertension. Both the aneurysms seen in angiographic studies and the retroperitoneal hemorrhage are probably vascular manifestations of von Recklinghausen's disease. Support for this conclusion is enhanced by the absence of clinical, laboratory or histologic data supporting the only tenable differential diagnosis, periarteritis nodosa.