Hydrocephalus is derived from the Greek word –hydro which means water, and cephalus meaning head. Hydrocephalus is also known as water head baby, which is water on the brain. Hydrocephalus is medical condition that 1 out of 500 babies are born with. The first thing that comes to a parent mind when having a baby is whether it will be healthy or not. Hydrocephalus is a medical condition in which, there is an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the cavities (ventricles) of the brain, which may cause an increase of pressure on the head.
Even though has been described as “water on the brain” it is a clear fluid surrounding the spinal cord and brain called (CSF) cerebrospinal fluid. The excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid is an result in an abnormal widening of spaces in the brain called ventricles. The fluid has an effect that helps prevent the vital brain tissue from injury. The fluid is made continuously from the blood by specialized cells of the choroid plexus in the brain ventricles. Hydrocephalus has six different classifications.
Communicating is happens when the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is blocked after it exits the ventricles and Non-Communicating is when the flow of CSF is blocked along one or more of the narrow pathways connecting the ventricles, which is also known as obstructive. Congenital hydrocephalus is present at birth and may be caused by environmental influences during fetal development or by genetic factors. Acquired hydrocephalus develops at the time of birth or at some point afterward and can affect individuals of all ages and may be caused by injury or disease.
The Essay on Hydrocephalus Disease
... of it. What happens is, the brain is producing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) normally and fluid is drained from the brain into the spinal canal and is ... cause hydrocephalus such as spinal bifida and dandy-walker syndrome as well. Also it can occur when the ventricles produce too much CSF fluid ...
Hydrocephalus Ex-Vacuo occurs when there is damage to the brain caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in this case, there may be actual shrinkage (atrophy, or wasting) of brain tissue. Normal pressure hydrocephalus can occur in people of any age, but it is most common in the elderly population. The last two that I mentioned mainly occurs in adults and don’t fit into the other categories. Hydrocephalus is caused by numerous of reasons and they are all genetic or developmental.
When the cause is genetic it is known as defect that causes aqueductal stenosis and when it is developmental it’s a developmental disorder that is associated with neural tube defects including spina bifida and encephalocele. Hydrocephalus has other possible cause such as certain infections during pregnancy, diseases such as meningitis, tumors, and complications with premature birth such as intraventricular hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage. All causes block the exit of CSF from the ventricles to the cisterns or eliminate the passageway for CSF into the cisterns.
Hydrocephalus causes is not understood until this day. Hydrocephalus symptoms depend on the amount of damage on the brain, age of the person whom is carrying it, and what is causing the buildup of the CSF fluid. The symptoms that may appear in the infants are separated sutures, irritability, sleepiness, eyes that appear to gaze downward, unusual large head, vomiting, bulging or tense soft spot (fontanel) on the top of the head, poor feeding, seizures, and has a rapid increase in the size of the head.
The symptoms for older children and toddlers are fever, headache, sleepiness, poor appetite, a delay with talking and walking, seizures, unstable balance, irritability, muscle spasticity (spasm), a brief, shrill, high-pitched cry, vomiting, slow growth from the age of 0- 5 years of age, crossed eyes or uncontrolled eye movements, and a changes in facial appearance and eye spacing, personality, memory, or the ability to reason or think.
When with young and middle age adults the symptom sign that you need to look for are loss of coordination or balance, impaired vision, difficulty in remaining awake or waking up, headache, decline in memory, concentration and other thinking skills that may affect job performance, and loss of bladder control or a frequent urge to urinate.
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The symptoms that adults (among the age of 60 and order the more common they are) are memory lost, poor coordination or balance, progressive loss of other thinking or reasoning skills, slower than normal movements in general, loss of bladder control or a frequent urge to urinate, and difficulty walking, often described as a shuffling gait or the feeling of the feet being stuck. When these symptoms appear seek emergency medical care. There is a number of developmental or medical problems can contribute to or trigger hydrocephalus.
Risk factors of hydrocephalus are brain tumors, head injury, meningitis, birth defects, spinal cord injury, encephalitis, spinal cord tumor, and myelomeningocele. A mother having an infection during pregnancy, such as lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, mumps, cytomegalovirus, chicken pox, and toxoplasmosis is a risk factor of hydrocephalus. Bleeding in the brain from a head injury or stroke is another risk factor. In most case the leading event to hydrocephalus is unknown. When doctors do the diagnosis, they will ask what is the medical history and symptoms.
The doctor will then run some test, such as ultrasound, a general physical, MRI, and CT scan. The doctor will do a brain imaging tests, which shows the enlargement of the ventricles caused by excess cerebrospinal fluid. The other exam that the doc may run is a neurological exam. The neurologist exam type will depend on a person’s age. The treatment for Hydrocephalus is a shunt placement also known as ventriculoperitoneal shunt. This shunt (a tube placed into the brain) allows excess CSF to drain into another area, usually the abdomen.
Sometimes a temporary extraventricular drain (EVD) is placed. People that have hydrocephalus normally need a shunt system for the rest of their lives, and regular monitoring is required. Some people may be able to get ventriculostom, which is a surgical procedure. In this procedure the surgeon uses a small video camera to have direct vision inside the brain and makes a hole in the bottom of one of the ventricles or between the ventricles to enable cerebrospinal fluid to flow out of the brain. Both of these surgical procedures can result in complications.
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Other treatments include removing or burning away (cauterizing) the parts of the brain that produce CSF, antibiotics are given if there are signs of infection, lumbar puncture (spinal tap)—This involves the insertion of a needle between the back bones in the back to remove excess CSF, and medicines such as acetazolamide (Diamox) and furosemide (Lasix), may decrease the production of CSF, and steroids or mannitol that may decrease swelling around lesions which are causing obstruction of CSF flow.
There are no known ways to prevent all the things that cause hydrocephalus, why because it’s not preventable. So the best thing for mothers to do is when you’re pregnant make sure you get regular prenatal care when caring your child. As parents make sure your child vaccine shots stay up to date and try to keep your child from getting head injuries. A Prompt treatment of infections and other disorders associated with hydrocephalus may reduce the risk of developing the disorder. People who survive have different amounts of physical, intellectual, and neurological disabilities.
People that have hydrocephalus that is not due to an infection will have the best outlook versus persons with hydrocephalus caused by tumors; these people usually do very poorly. Six out of ten people who don’t get treated die from hydrocephalus. The children with hydrocephalus who live to see a year normal a fairly normal life span.
