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Mr. Dimitrios Kobogiorgas, Neurosurgeon and Scientific Associate HYGEIA, talks about Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, which occurs more often in the elderly, at ygeiamou
Many older people have unsteadiness, difficulty walking, memory loss, or incontinence episodes that limit their lives.
All these symptoms many think are due to age or “dementia”. But dementia is a symptom that can usually be due to diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, but it can also be due to hematomas or brain tumors, which when we remove these patients are cured and can return to their daily activities.
It is important to emphasize that unsteadiness, difficulty walking, memory problems or incontinence they may be due to a common but not so well known condition: the Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, in which it exists accumulation of fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) in the cavities (ventricles) of the brain causing them to grow in size and press on the brain. Typically, these patients report having difficulty walking and feeling their feet stick to the ground, which is medically described as a “magnetic gait.
There is a large number of patients suffering from Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus without knowing it, as a result of which they remain untreated, suffer and the quality of life of both the patients themselves and their families is significantly affected.
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus can occur in patients of any age, but it occurs more often to the elderly. Causes that can cause it are brain injuries, subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain infections, etc.
For the correct treatment of patients, an accurate and correct diagnosis is required. Because the symptoms of patients with BP hydrocephalus are similar to those with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, many patients are misdiagnosed as having these conditions when in fact they have BP hydrocephalus.
An important role in the accurate diagnosis of patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is played by cerebrospinal fluid flow study. The Likvor CELDA System is a special machine, with Swedish know-how, that studies the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and helps to accurately diagnose patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. Also, this machine can check whether a brain valve is working properly or not, which helps diagnose brain valve patients who are getting worse or developing new symptoms.
THE treatment of patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus involves the placement of a brain valve (cerebroventricular valve), which drains the cerebrospinal fluid from the brain to the abdomen. The brain valve regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid that cannot be managed by the brain resulting in the reduction of the size of the ventricles of the brain and the treatment of patients. Tellingly, one of our BP Hydrocephalus patients described the day of her brain valve surgery as “Her new birthday”, because her life improved so much after the surgery that she felt like she was reborn!
However, if Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is left undiagnosed and untreated, the patients’ symptoms may worsen and even cause loss of life.