Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus, sometimes known as "water on the brain" comes from the greek words "hydro" which means water and "cephalus" which means head. People suffering from this condition have an abnormal amount of cerebralspinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain. This excess fluid causes severe headache, nausea, vomiting, an seizures. If left untreated it can lead to coma or even death. There are currently two types of Hydrocephalus known to medicine.

History Hydrocephalus was first noted by the Greek doctor Hippocrates but was untreatable until the 20th century when shunts and other neurosurgery devices were invented.

Communicating Hydrocephalus Communicating Hydrocephalus is when the body has trouble reabsorbing the CSF, not an over abundance of it. This is possibly caused by non functioning arachnoid granulation which are located around the superior sagittal sinus]. Many different things can cause this including hemorrhage, meningitis and Chiari malformation.

Non-Communicating Hydrocephalus Non Communicating Hydrocephalus is caused by an obstruction causing CSF blockage. This is due to either compression of the ventricles or lesions on the brain. Both types of Hydrocephalus can be either acquired or congenital.

Treatment Currently the only known treatment for Hydrocephalus is through the surgical placement of a shunt. This involves placing a ventricular catheter from the ventricle of the brain to a drainage spot inside the body, most often the peritoneum but they can also be placed in the right atrium of the heart, the pleural cavity or the gallbladder. It can also be placed in the lumbar of the spine in the peritoneal cavity but this is not the first choice of surgeons.

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