Insights into the pathogenesis of normal-pressure hydrocephalus

Authors/Creators

Salvatore Spina
Simon M. Laws, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Abstract

Normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a poorly defined clinical syndrome, classically characterized by the phenotypic triad of gait instability, cognitive impairment, and urinary incontinence, accompanied by neuroimaging evidence of ventriculomegaly and disproportionally enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus and normal intracranial pressure.^1,2 The diagnosis of this syndrome is complex since the characterizing symptoms are highly nonspecific and occur together in fewer than two thirds of NPH patients. In addition, a growing body of evidence supports the observation that NPH patients often have a coexistent neurodegenerative disorder that may be a concurrent or sole cause of both clinical symptoms and ventriculomegaly. This may be the main cause for the short-lived benefits secondary to an NPH-targeted therapeutic intervention, such as the placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.²

Document Type

Editorial

Date of Publication

5-14-2019

ISSN

1526-632X

Volume

92

Issue

20

PubMed ID

31004073

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

Copyright

subscription content

Publisher

Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Comments

Spina, S., & Laws, S. M. (2019). Insights into the pathogenesis of normal-pressure hydrocephalus. Neurology, 92(20), 933-934. Available here

Recommended Citation

Spina, S., & Laws, S. M. (2019). Insights into the pathogenesis of normal-pressure hydrocephalus. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000007495