Neurological diseases >>>> Hydrocephalus - what is it?

Hydrocephalus - what is it?

Hydrocephalus (called "Dropsy of the brain" in everyday life) is a pathological accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid that envelops the brain and spinal cord).

Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by the vascular plexuses of the brain, the accumulation of cerebrospinal cerebrospinal fluid occurs in the subarachnoid space of the brain (subarachnoid membrane), from where the cerebrospinal fluid enters the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord. The amount of cerebrospinal fluid is controlled, and its excess is excreted into the blood. But with violations of the mechanisms of formation and excretion of cerebrospinal liquor, its excess begins to accumulate in the subarachnoid membrane of the brain and cause various kinds of diseases. CSF can accumulate in the ventricles of the brain or in the subarachnoid and subdural spaces of the brain.

Many neurological health problems in humans are accompanied by excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the lining of the brain, for example: increased intracranial pressure and accompanying headaches, ataxia (compression of the brain), trauma and concussion of the brain, brain tumors and other pathologies.

The most common causes of hydrocephalus are associated with a violation of one or more mechanisms of the circulation of cerebrospinal CSF:

violation of cerebrospinal fluid production (increased concentration of cerebrospinal fluid),
violation of the mechanisms of distribution of cerebrospinal fluid between the membranes of the brain and spinal cord,
violation of the mechanisms of the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid and its removal into the bloodstream.

Defects in the functioning of the mechanisms of production and circulation of cerebrospinal liquor can be both congenital and acquired.

According to the rate of development, acute hydrocephalus is distinguished (within several hours), subacute hydrocephalus (clinical manifestations develop within a month) and chronically flowing hydrocephalus (the clinic grows within six months).

Hydrocephalus can be stabilized (reaches a certain quantitative indicator and does not change it over a long period of time), progressive (symptoms increase) or decompensated (the course of the pathology becomes irreversible and destructive).

Signs of hydrocephalus differ between children and adults. In childhood, when the bones of the skull have not yet completely hardened and are amenable to deformation, hydrocephalus proceeds in the form of an expansion of the volume of the cranium, which partially compensates for the compression of the internal structures of the brain. Such hydrocephalus, when stabilized, can proceed without an increase in intracranial pressure and headaches. In infants with hydrocephalus, the top of the head resembles a swollen ball and is accompanied by tissue edema in the eye sockets. Hydrocephalus in childhood can be accompanied by painful movements of the eye muscle, especially in the "up" direction.

Symptoms of hydrocephalus in adolescence and adulthood are complicated by the fact that there is no way to compensate for intracranial pressure by changing the volume of the skull, and compression of the brain structures up to their atrophy occurs.

Hydrocephalus is accompanied by:

insurmountable headache (not relieved by conventional analgesics),
disorders of the vestibular apparatus (dizziness, uncoordinated movements, unsteady gait),
disturbances in the functioning of the organs of the hearing aid (decreased hearing acuity, tinnitus, state of deafness),
disturbances in the functioning of the organs of vision (decreased visual acuity, loss of areas of the visual field, disturbances in color perception),
neurological and mental disorders (a feeling of fullness of the head, a feeling of bulging eyes, disturbances in the sensitivity of some parts of the body, irritation, neurosis, aggression, mood swings, memory impairment).

Diagnosis of hydrocephalus is not difficult with a simple survey of the patient and examination of the structure of the cranium. X-ray examination helps to identify areas of thinning of the bone tissue of the skull, areas of depression of the skull bones, divergence of sutures (in children), abnormalities in the structures of the brain are detected using ultrasound, computed and magnetic resonance imaging.

Treatment of hydrocephalus depends on the causes of its development and includes conservative and surgical methods. Hydrocephalus is conservatively treated in case of its acquired character. The emphasis is placed on the treatment of the underlying disease that caused hydrocephalus. In the symptomatic treatment of hydrocephalus, diuretic drugs and drugs that reduce intracranial pressure, as well as drugs that have an analgesic effect, are used.

Congenital hydrocephalus associated with disorders of the mechanisms of circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, and hydrocephalus associated with trauma to the structures of the brain are treated surgically. Surgical intervention is designed to restore the mechanisms of production and distribution of cerebrospinal fluid, create additional pathways for the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid if it is impossible to change the pathology of the circulating fluid (shunting), excision of formations that create compression for brain structures (tumors, hematomas).