However, when head swelling is prominent, children are taken at great expense for treatment. By then, brain tissue is undeveloped and neurosurgery is rare and difficult. Children more commonly live with undeveloped brain tissue and consequential intellectual disabilities and restrictions. Society and culture
Name
The word hydrocephalus is from the Greek ὕδωρ, hydōr meaning water and κεφαλή, kephalē meaning head. Other names for hydrocephalus include "water on the brain", a historical name, and "water baby syndrome". Awareness campaign
September was designated National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in July 2009 by the U.S. Congress in H.Res. 373. The resolution campaign is due in part to the advocacy work of the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation. Prior to July 2009, no awareness month for this condition had been designated. Many hydrocephalus organizations, such as the One Small Voice Foundation, promote awareness and fundraising activities. Exceptional case
One case of hydrocephalus was a man whose brain shrank to a thin sheet of tissue, due to a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in his skull. As a child, the man had a shunt, but it was removed when he was 14. In July 2007, at age 44, he went to a hospital due to mild weakness in his left leg. When doctors learned of the mans medical history, they performed a CT and MRI scan, and were astonished to see "massive enlargement" of the lateral ventricles in the skull. Dr. Lionel Feuillet of Hôpital de la Timone in Marseille said, "The images were most unusual... the brain was virtually absent."
Scarring and fibrosis of the subarachnoid space following infectious, inflammatory, or hemorrhagic events can also prevent reabsorption of CSF, causing diffuse ventricular dilatation. Noncommunicating
Noncommunicating hydrocephalus, or obstructive hydrocephalus, is caused by an obstruction to the flow of CSF. Foramen of Monro obstruction may lead to dilation of one, or if large enough (e.g., in colloid cyst), both lateral ventricles. The aqueduct of Sylvius, normally narrow, may be obstructed by a number of genetic or acquired lesions (e.g., atresia, ependymitis, hemorrhage, or tumor) and lead to dilation of both lateral ventricles, as well as the third ventricle. Fourth ventricle obstruction leads to dilatation of the aqueduct, as well as the lateral and third ventricles (e.g., Chiari malformation). The foramina of Luschka and foramen of Magendie may be obstructed due to congenital malformation (e.g., Dandy–Walker malformation). Other
Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a particular form of chronic communicating hydrocephalus, characterized by enlarged cerebral ventricles, with only intermittently elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Characteristic triad of symptoms are; dementia, apraxic gait and urinary incontinence. The diagnosis of NPH can be established only with the help of continuous intraventricular pressure recordings (over 24 hours or even longer), since more often than not instant measurements yield normal pressure values. Dynamic compliance studies may be also helpful. Altered compliance (elasticity) of the ventricular walls, as well as increased viscosity of the cerebrospinal fluid, may play a role in the pathogenesis.