Risk factors

Tuberous sclerosis can be the result of either:

• A random cell division error. About two-thirds of people who have tuberous sclerosis have a new mutation in either the TSC1 or TSC2 gene — the genes associated with tuberous sclerosis — and do not have a family history of tuberous sclerosis.
• Inheritance. About one-third of people who have tuberous sclerosis inherit an altered TSC1 or TSC2 gene from a parent who has the disorder.

If you have tuberous sclerosis, you have up to a 50 percent chance of passing the condition to your biological children. Severity of the condition may vary. A parent with tuberous sclerosis may have a child who has a milder or more severe form of the disorder.