What are the symptoms of hydrocephalus?

Answer 1

Hydrocephalus is primarily looked at as a birth defect, but can be adult onset - mainly in the elderly.

Hydrocephalus as a birth defect are mainly caused by genetic issues or diseases such as spina bifida. The symptoms are different from adults, because an infant's head can expand to accommodate extra fluid. "Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, irritability, downward deviation of the eyes (also called "sunsetting"), and seizures."

Hydrocephalus in older children or adults is caused by a disease that can alter the structure of brain, such as mengingitis, tumors, or infection of the brain. Strokes or traumatic brain injury can also cause hydrocephalus. "In older children or adults, symptoms may include headache followed by vomiting, nausea, papilledema (swelling of the optic disk which is part of the optic nerve), blurred vision, diplopia (double vision), sunsetting of the eyes, problems with balance, poor coordination, gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, slowing or loss of development, lethargy, drowsiness, irritability, or other changes in personality or cognition including memory loss."

There is also "normal pressure hydrocephalus," which is primarily a disease of the elderly. The symptoms associated with it are "progressive mental impairment and dementia, problems with walking, and impaired bladder control leading to urinary frequency and/or incontinence." Because these symptoms are often associated with other diseases of the elderly, normal pressure hydrocephalus is often misdiagnosed.

How is hydrocephalus associated with migraines?

There are two types of disorders associated with the build-up of cerebrospinal fluid that we know can directly cause migraines. One of these is an Arnold-Chiari malformation, which is malformation of the occipital region of the skull, causing it to be too small for the person's brain, and increasing CSF pressure by not allowing fluid to properly vacate the area. The only treatment is surgery.

There is also pseudotumor cerebri, or idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This is a disorder of unknown cause, which primarily affects obese woman of child-bearing age. Symptoms of this include headaches, and it can increase the frequency of migraines, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), disploplia (double vision), and rarely arm pain. The majority of these cases are diagnosed through the finding of papilledema - or increased ocular pressure. Another way it is diagnosed is by having a spinal tap to measure CSF pressure. If you are diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri, you are asked to keep your weight at a healthy level, and to take diuretics so help you shed excess fluid from the body. It is important to take care of it, because leaving that pressure on your eyes can cause blindness.