Hydrocephalus

Types and Causes of Hydrocephalus

If the amount of cerebrospinal fluid generated by the choroid plexus is greater than the amount that the body can absorb, the CSF can accumulate and cause hydrocephalus. CSF serves a number of functions for your brain:

• Protecting and cushioning your brain. Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and this buffer of liquid helps prevent your brain from crashing into your skull during a head-jarring impact.
• Helping feed your brain. The fluid transports nutrients to your brain and also moves waste away.
• Assisting in maintaining proper cerebral blood flow.

A number of conditions, diseases, and injury can cause an imbalance in the CSF production and reabsorption.

Although congenital hydrocephalus is frequently diagnosed during an ultrasound, treatment outcomes may be better soon after birth to help avoid or curb brain damage. Neural tube defects such as spina bifida can bring on conditions such as Chiari malformations or other spinal cord abnormalities that can result in hydrocephalus.

Congenital hydrocephalus can also occur when the channel between the 3rd and 4th brain ventricle is obstructed, a condition known as aqueductal stenosis.

Acquired hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus that develops after birth, can also stem from several conditions.

• Brain tumors can obstruct the proper flow of CSF
• Infections in the brain such as meningitis
• Subarachnoid hemorrhages
• Injury or trauma to the skull can cause inflammation in the brain tissue
• Cysts
• Strokes

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) can develop in older people and is generally idiopathic, or without a known cause.

Signs of hydrocephalus tend to vary with the age of the patient.

Babies still have a growing skull which can increase in size to adapt to an excess of cerebrospinal fluid, however, older children and adults do not have that expandability in their skull bones and their symptoms vary accordingly.

Symptoms of Hydrocephalus in Infants

The most discernible sign of hydrocephalus in a baby is an enlarged head or an accelerated rate of growth to the head’s circumference. Other symptoms may include:

• A bulge or swelling of fluid in the space between bones of the child’s skull
• Extreme drowsiness
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Eyes cast downward
• Developmental delays

Older Children

Toddlers and older children may also have some of the same symptoms as babies do such as:

• Unusually large head size
• Excessive sleepiness
• Vomiting or nausea
• Developmental delays

Kids with hydrocephalus may also exhibit other symptoms such as:

• Vision issues such as seeing double
• Trouble with balance or coordination
• Irritability
• Declines in developmental abilities
• Headaches
• Personality changes

Adults
Adults may present with somewhat different symptoms due to the lack of malleability of their skull. These symptoms can also indicate normal pressure hydrocephalus.

• Headache
• Balance and coordination issues
• Frequent urination or difficulty controlling bladder
• Deterioration in mental facilities

How Is Hydrocephalus Diagnosed?

Symptoms of hydrocephalus vary from person to person, so your physician will use advanced imaging tools and a neurological evaluation to obtain the most accurate diagnosis.

Congenital hydrocephalus is often discovered during a prenatal ultrasound and is often readily observed in the second trimester and may also be identified with amniocentesis. After birth, hydrocephalus diagnosis in a newborn may involve magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography scans, ultrasounds, or CSF pressure monitoring.

Diagnosing normal pressure hydrocephalus in the elderly may require experts familiar with the condition because many of the symptoms mimic dementia-related conditions.

State-of-the-Art Treatments for Hydrocephalus at NSPC in NY

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