Hydrocephalus
What is Hydrocephalus?
Most law folks know hydrocephalus as a condition called “water on the brain.” It is actually a highly complex and partially understood condition in which there is a build up of pressure in the brain from a blockage or backup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
This fluid bathes the brain and is stored in chambers called ventricles within the brain. Each chamber has an outflow pathway. The brain is constantly making and absorbing the CSF in equal volumes just like a bathtub with the water running and the drain open. There are a number of conditions that can affect this balance, and when the inflow exceeds the outflow of CSF, hydrocephalus develops.
Causes
Conditions that can cause hydrocephalus are infections which prevent absorption of CSF, masses caused by tumors both benign and malignant that narrow or block outflow pathways, bleeding from hemorrhages that block pathways and affect absorption, and many other causes.
Diagnosis & Treatment
It is important to diagnose hydrocephalus before neurological damages occur. Hydrocephalus can be treated by eliminating the CSF block, by placing a surgically implanted shunt to divert the CSF to another body cavity or by a third ventriculostomy to shunt the CSF to another intracerebral space.