Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Approximatly 10% of all
people over the age of 65
and as many as 50% of those over the age
of 85 are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease

In the United States, there are an estimated 375,000 people suffering from normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Of these, only about 11,500 have actually been treated with surgical implantation of a shunt – that’s less than 3% of those afflicted. This statistic is particularly significant when you consider that NPH is the only form of dementia that can be controlled or potentially reversed with treatment. Since NPH is often mistaken for other disorders, most cases of NPH go unreported and many are left untreated.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is an excessive build-up of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain occurring most often in people over the age of 60. Diagnosing NPH can be difficult because the key symptoms of the disease are also associated with other disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, as well as with the normal aging process. The number of cases of NPH is expected to grow as the elderly population increases.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Symptoms

Pressure created in the brain from the build-up of cerebrospinal fluid produces three basic symptoms in people with normal pressure hydrocephalus:

  • Difficulty walking
  • Mild dementia
  • Impaired bladder control

Because these symptoms are also characteristic of other aging disorders and dementias, NPH can be difficult to diagnose.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Diagnosis

Normal pressure hydrocephalus may occur as the result of a head injury, cranial surgery, hemorrhage or bleeding during surgery, meningitis or other infection, tumor or cysts. However, in many cases the cause of this disorder is simply not known.

Your physician will perform a complete neurological examination and will likely follow up with neuroimaging tests (such as computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans) and cerebrospinal fluid flow studies.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Treatment
A shunt is the most common and usually the only available treatment for NPH. The shunt is surgically implanted to divert excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain or spinal canal to another part of the body where it can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Due to recent advances in technology, neurosurgeons may adjust shunt system settings non-invasively during regular office visits.

Unfortunately, not all NPH patients are candidates for surgical implantation of a shunt. They must meet criteria identified during diagnostic testing. Your neurologist will make recommendations based on his or her examination and the findings of neuroimaging studies.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Resources

Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
PO Box 8250
Silver Spring, MD 20907-8250
Tel: 800-438-4380
Fax: 301-495-3334

Alzheimer’s Disease International
64 Great Suffolk Street
London
SE1 0BL
UK
Tel: +44 20 79810880
Fax: +44 20 79282357
E-mail: info@alz.co.uk

Alzheimer Europe
145, route de Thionville; L-2611 Luxembourg
Tel.: +352-29 79 70
Fax: +352-29 79 72
E-mail:info@alzheimer-europe.org

Alzheimer’s Association National Office
225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17
Chicago, IL 60601
24/7 Nationwide Contact Center: 1.800.272.3900

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
322 Eighth Avenue
6th Floor
New York, NY 10001
info@alzfdn.org
Tel: 866-AFA-8484 (232-8484)
Fax: 646-638-1546

American Health Assistance Foundation
22512 Gateway Center Drive
Clarksburg, Maryland 20871
Tel: 800-437-2423 or (301) 948-3244
Fax: (301) 258-9454

Alzheimer Solutions
3122 Knorr Street
Philadelphia, PA. 19149
Tel: 215-624-2098
E-mail: info@caregiving-solutions.com

Association for Frontotemporal Dementias (AFTD)
100 North 17th Street
Suite 600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
info@FTD-Picks.org
Tel: 267-514-7221 or 866-507-7222

Hydrocephalus Association
870 Market Street
Suite 705
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-732-7040 or 888-598-3789

Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.
57 West 57th Street, Suite 904
New York, NY 10019
info@alzdiscovery.org.
Tel: 212-901-8000

International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
Cellebroersstraat 16
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 502 0413
Fax: +32 (0)2 502 1129
E-mail: info@ifglobal.org

The Lewy Body Dementia Association, Inc.
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047
Tel: 404-935-6444
Fax: 480-422-5434

National Family Caregivers Association
10400 Connecticut Avenue
Suite 500
Kensington, MD 20895-3944
info@thefamilycaregiver.org
Tel: 301-942-6430 or 800-896-3650
Fax: 301-942-2302

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
6001 Executive Blvd. Rm. 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
nimhinfo@nih.gov
Tel: 301-443-4513/301-443-8431 (TTY) 866-615-NIMH (-6464)
Fax: 301-443-4279

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