Syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.
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A 79-year-old woman suffering from urinary incontinence and unsteady gait was diagnosed as having idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) with hyponatremia due to the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). The concentration of antidiuretic hormone was high while the plasma osmolality was low in the presence of concentrated urine during the episodes of hyponatremia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head showed enlargement of the third and lateral ventricles. After ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery, the symptoms of NPH and hyponatremia improved. It may be possibly explained that mechanical pressure on the hypothalamus from the third ventricle is responsible for hyponatremia. (+info)
Specific patterns of cognitive impairment in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.
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OBJECTIVES: Eleven patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) were selected from an initial cohort of 43 patients. The patients with NPH fell into two distinctive subgroups: preshunt, group 1 (n=5) scored less than 24 on the mini mental state examination (MMSE) and were classified as demented and group 2 (n=6) scored 24 or above on the MMSE and were classified as non-demented. METHODS: All patients were neuropsychologically assessed on two occasions: preshunt and then again 6 months postshunt. Group 1 completed the mini mental state examination (MMSE) and the Kendrick object learning test (KOLT). In addition to the MMSE and KOLT, group 2 completed further tasks including verbal fluency and memory and attentional tasks from the CANTAB battery. Nine of the 11 patients also underwent postshunt MRI. RESULTS: Group 1, who, preshunt, performed in the dementing range on both the MMSE and KOLT, showed a significant postoperative recovery, with all patients now scoring within the normal non-demented range. Group 2, although showing no signs of dementia according to the MMSE and KOLT either preshunt or postshunt, did show a specific pattern of impairment on tests sensitive to frontostriatal dysfunction compared with healthy volunteers, and this pattern remained postoperatively. Importantly, this pattern is distinct from that exhibited by patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Eight of the nine patterns of structural damage corresponded well to cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are useful for three main reasons: (1) they detail the structural and functional profile of impairment seen in NPH, (2) they demonstrate the heterogeneity found in this population and show how severity of initial cognitive impairment can affect outcome postshunt, and (3) they may inform and provide a means of monitoring the cognitive outcome of new procedures in shunt surgery. (+info)
Prediction of effectiveness of shunting in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus by cerebral blood flow measurement and computed tomography cisternography.
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Measurement of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and computed tomography (CT) cisternography were performed in 37 patients with a tentative diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) to predict their surgical outcome. The mean CBF of the whole brain was measured quantitatively by single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime before surgery. The results of CT cisternography were classified into four patterns: type I, no ventricular stasis at 24 hours; type II, no ventricular stasis with delayed clearance of cerebral blush; type III, persistent ventricular stasis with prominent cerebral blush; type IV, persistent ventricular stasis with diminished cerebral blush and/or asymmetrical filling of the sylvian fissures. The mean CBF was significantly lower than that of age-matched controls (p < 0.005). Patients with a favorable outcome had a significantly higher mean CBF than patients with an unfavorable outcome (p < 0.005). Patients with the type I pattern did not respond to shunting. Some patients with type II and III patterns responded to shunting but improvement was unsatisfactory. Patients with type IV pattern responded well to shunting, and those with a mean CBF of 35 ml/100 g/min or over achieved a favorable outcome. The combination of CBF measurement and CT cisternography can improve the prediction of surgical outcome in patients with suspected NPH. (+info)
MR imaging of the hippocampus in normal pressure hydrocephalus: correlations with cortical Alzheimer's disease confirmed by pathologic analysis.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR studies have shown hippocampal atrophy to be a sensitive diagnostic feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we measured the hippocampal volumes of patients with a clinical diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a potentially reversible cause of dementia when shunted. Further, we examined the relationship between the hippocampal volumes and cortical AD pathologic findings, intracranial pressure, and clinical outcomes in cases of NPH. METHODS: We measured hippocampal volumes from 37 patients with a clinical diagnosis of NPH (27 control volunteers and 24 patients with AD). The patients with NPH underwent biopsy, and their clinical outcomes were followed for a year. RESULTS: Compared with those for control volunteers, the findings for patients with NPH included a minor left-side decrease in the hippocampal volumes (P < .05). Compared with those for patients with AD, the findings for patients with NPH included significantly larger hippocampi on both sides. Although not statistically significant, trends toward larger volumes were observed in patients with NPH who had elevated intracranial pressure, who benefited from shunting, and who did not display cortical AD pathologic findings. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of hippocampal volumes among patients with a clinical diagnosis of NPH have clear clinical implications, providing diagnostic discrimination from AD and possibly prediction of clinical outcome after shunting. (+info)
Indications for shunting in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus presenting with dementia and brain atrophy (atypical idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus).
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The indications for shunt operation in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus accompanied by brain atrophy (atypical idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: AINPH) were investigated in 25 patients who satisfied the diagnostic criteria and underwent ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting. All patients had no apparent history of intra- or extracranial disease; dementia and gait disturbance as the main complaints; moderate to severe cerebral atrophy and ventricular dilatation and at least periventricular low density around the anterior horn on computed tomography; normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and filling of ventricles or cortical surface space with contrast medium at 24 hours on cisternography. The 15 male and 10 female patients were aged 47-83 years (mean 60.4 years). VP shunting was effective in 12 improved patients and not effective in 13 unimproved patients according to NPH grading. Pathological pressure wave on epidural pressure monitoring was observed in eight of 12 improved patients, but none of 13 unimproved patients. CSF outflow resistance was 35.33 +/- 11.16 mmHg/ml/min in improved patients and 9.12 +/- 3.51 mmHg/ml/min in unimproved patients. Preoperative serum alpha-1-antichymotrypsin value (alpha-1-ACT) was 42.02 +/- 8.64 mg/dl in improved patients and 61.72 +/- 11.03 mg/dl in unimproved patients. Alpha-1-ACT over 55 mg/dl occurred only in unimproved patients. Cerebral arteriovenous difference of oxygen content value (c-AVDO2) before and after surgery was 6.34 +/- 0.9 ml% and 5.91 +/- 0.78 ml% in improved patients and 4.75 +/- 1.85 ml% and 4.81 +/- 1.73 ml% in unimproved patients, respectively. The two cases with preoperative c-AVDO2 value over 8.5 ml% were both unimproved. Mean cerebral blood flow value before and after surgery was 23.51 +/- 4.20 ml/100 g/min and 45.22 +/- 8.11 ml/100 g/min in improved patients and 21.77 +/- 5.12 ml/100 g/min and 24.82 +/- 4.97 ml/100 g/min in unimproved patients, respectively. Cerebral atrophy in improved patients is caused by a cerebral circulation disturbance defined as a cerebral blood flow of penumbra or more due to cerebral arteriosclerosis, etc. A flow-chart of indications of shunt surgery for AINPH was prepared based on the results of the present study. (+info)
Alzheimer's disease comorbidity in normal pressure hydrocephalus: prevalence and shunt response.
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The clinical impact of Alzheimer's disease pathology at biopsy was investigated in 56 cognitively impaired patients undergoing shunt surgery for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Cognition was measured by means of the global deterioration scale (GDS), the mini mental status examination (MMSE) and a battery of six psychometric tests. Gait was assessed using objective measurements of velocity and the ambulatory index (AI). The prevalence of cases exhibiting neuritic plaques (positive biopsies) increased in parallel with dementia severity from 18% for patients with GDS 3 to 75% for patients with GDS scores > or =6. Patients with positive biopsies were more cognitively impaired (higher GDS and lower MMSE scores) as well as more gait impaired (higher AI scores and slower velocities) than patients with negative biopsies. After surgery, gait velocity and AI scores improved significantly and to a comparable degree for patients with and without positive biopsies. Similar proportions of positive and negative biopsy patients also had improved gait as assessed by means of subjective video tape comparisons. There were no significant differences between the biopsy groups in the magnitude of postoperative psychometric change or in the proportion of cases exhibiting improved urinary control. Alzheimer's disease pathology is a common source of comorbidity in older patients with idiopathic NPH where it contributes to the clinical impairment associated with this disorder. For patients accurately diagnosed with NPH, concomitant Alzheimer's disease pathology does not strongly influence the clinical response to shunt surgery. (+info)
Transverse-section radionuclide scanning in cisternography.
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By applying the technique of transverse-section radionuclide scanning to cisternography, the structure and relationships of the basal cisterns and other subarachnoid spaces of the brain can be visualized more clearly and with more detail than is possible with routine imaging techniques. The ability of this method to separate overlapping areas of radioactivity ensures improved definition of space-occupying processes within the basal cisterns. In the evaluation by cisternography of patients with hydrocephalus and dementia, the transverse-section images clearly separated various normal and abnormal patterns, whereas the routine cisternogram images were equivocal. (+info)
CSF sulfatide distinguishes between normal pressure hydrocephalus and subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy.
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OBJECTIVES: To examine the CSF concentrations of molecules reflecting demyelination, neuronal and axonal degeneration, gliosis, monoaminergic neuronal function, and aminergic and peptidergic neurotransmission in a large series of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) or subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE), to elucidate pathogenic, diagnostic, and prognostic features. METHODS: CSF concentrations of glycosphingolipid (sulfatide), proteins (neurofilament triplet protein (NFL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)), neuropeptides (vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA)), and monoamines (homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglycol (HMPG)) were analysed in 43 patients with NPH and 19 patients with SAE. The diagnoses of NPH and SAE were based on strict criteria and patients with NPH were subsequently operated on. Twelve clinical variables, psychometric tests measuring perceptual speed, accuracy, learning, and memory and a psychiatric evaluation were performed in all patients and before and after a shunt operation in patients with NPH. RESULTS: The CSF sulfatide concentration was markedly increased in patients with SAE (mean 766, range 300-3800 nmol/l) compared with patients with NPH (mean 206, range 50-400 nmol/l) (p<0.001). 5-HIAA, GABA, and VIP in CSF were higher in patients with SAE than in patients with NPH. The patients with NPH with cerebrovascular aetiology had higher sulfatide concentrations and a poorer outcome after shunt surgery than patients with NPH with other aetiologies. CONCLUSIONS: The pathogenesis of the white matter changes in NPH and SAE is different and ischaemic white matter changes can be a part of the NPH state. The markedly increased CSF sulfatide concentrations in patients with SAE indicate ongoing demyelination as an important pathophysiological feature of SAE. The CSF sulfatide concentration distinguished between patients with SAE and those with NPH with a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 94%, making it an important diagnostic marker. (+info)