This disease occurs due to excessive accumulation in the brain of cerebrospinal fluid( cerebrospinal fluid).In a healthy body, this fluid forms in the ventricular part of the brain, after which a spinal canal enters and is absorbed into the blood. If hydrocephalus occurs, no transport or absorption occurs, and the liquid remains where it should not be present in such quantities.
Brainwave - a description of the disease
Hydrocephalus occurs mainly in children, but it can also affect adults. The accumulation of fluid in this disease leads to the crushing of the brain tissue to the skull, which contributes to the disruption of normal brain function.
A healthy person in the skull contains about 150 ml of CSF.Excess of this amount indicates pathological abnormalities in the activity of the organism.
Pediatric cerebral infarction in a child
The statistics of medicine say that about 70% of newborns, in obvious or latent form, suffer from hydrocephalus.
In children before the year manifestations are as follows:
- causeless crying;
- sleep disorders;
- frequent regurgitation;
- tilting the head back during sleep;
- increased muscle tone( handles are compressed into fists, the toes are stretched forward);
- no stepping reflex;
- delayed motor and mental development;
Preschoolers and school children hydropic causes:
- hypermobility;
- hysterical reactions;
- stuttering;
- urinary incontinence( enuresis);
- strabismus;
- frequent colds;
- developmental delay( violation of diction, poor vocabulary);
- nasal bleeding;
- headaches;
- poor academic performance;
- rapid fatigue;
The main cause of dropsy in newborns is the infectious diseases that the mother has suffered during pregnancy.
Types
Classification of hydrocephalus by its origin:
- congenital;
- acquired;
According to the pathogenesis, the dropsy is divided into three main forms:
- Closed( or occlusive) - in which the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid is disrupted by the closure of the pathway by tumor, thrombus or other pathological formations;
- Open( or communicating) - a form in which absorption of CSF is impaired in the circulatory system;
- Hyper-secretory is a form in which excess fluid is produced by the ventricular calving of the brain;
Causes of the disease
The direct cause of the disease, as already mentioned, are disorders of outflow of fluid or its excess synthesis in the body. This can be due to congenital and acquired anomalies.
Hydrocephalus can develop as a result of maternal infection, and because of infections that affect the weak child's body in the first months after the birth of the child.
Pediatrics in adults develop due to the presence of tumors and blood clots in the brain;Infectious diseases can also contribute to the occurrence of disturbances in the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid.
Risk Factors for
Factors affecting the development of hydrocephalus may be:
- prematurity( birth trauma accompanied by hemorrhages);
- infectious diseases of the uterus during pregnancy( herpes, toxoplasmosis);
- congenital defects( malformations of the brain and spinal cord);
- meningitis, encephalitis( the consequences of these diseases can lead to the formation of tumors);
- bleeding in the brain;
- head injury;
Symptoms of
Babies
Hydrocephalus in infants is manifested in the following symptoms:
- leading head size growth with concomitant thinning of the skull bones;
- appearance on the face of the venous network;
- a strained fontanel( it can remain open until 2 and 3 years, whereas normally the fontanel closure should take up to a year);
- nausea and vomiting;
- sleep disorders;
- convulsions and convulsions;
- head tilting;
- rolling the eyes;
- changes in the fundus, vision impairment;
- delays in physical and mental development( the child can not keep the head, sit and stand up, he does not play, mobbing unmotivated, flaccid and apathetic, sometimes grabs the head - perhaps experiencing a headache);
It's no secret that intracranial pressure in adults is the cause of many unpleasant symptoms and diseases. It must be diagnosed and treated correctly.
From the headache, judging by the reviews, spasmalgon works well. More on this here.
In adults
The dropsy in older children and adults has the following symptoms:
- epileptic seizures;
- enuresis( incontinence);
- stunting or gigantism;
- premature sexual development;
- disruption of hormonal functions( decreased production of hormones - for example, thyroid gland);
- headaches and associated vomiting;
- vision defocusing, diplopia( double vision), visual impairment;
- impaired coordination of movements, changing gait;
- weakness and rapid fatigue;
- irritability;
- memory loss;
- disturbance of thinking, confusion, dementia, personality changes;
When to call a doctor
You need to see a doctor if you have any of the above symptoms: the sooner the disease is diagnosed, the better the therapy will be. This is especially true for infants.
If the child often cries for no apparent reason, has difficulty with breast sucking, does not want to tilt his head or turn, has trouble breathing, and if there are seizures, changes in the eyes, face and head structure, seek medical advice and help immediately.
Diagnosis and diagnosis of
A primary diagnosis is made by a neonotologist( a neonatal specialist), a pediatrician, a surgeon or a neurosurgeon. The most accurate diagnosis is provided by additional studies.
Diagnosis of hydrocephalus is based on the observation of the clinical picture, examination of the fundus, as well as the hardware procedures:
- neurosonography;
- ultrasound of the brain;
- MRI( magnetic resonance imaging);
- computed tomography;
This equipment is not available in all hospitals, however, if necessary, parents should conduct a survey in a private clinic on a commercial basis. The diagnosis of the adult is also carried out through examination in a magnetic resonance chamber.
Reliable results in this case are the results of several fetal examinations at different periods of pregnancy in order to exclude the possibility of error as much as possible.
In the photo you can see how the hydrops of the brain looks
Treatment
How to treat the dropsy of the brain in this or that case solves only the attending physician, or about any self-treatment of speech and can not be. This is a very dangerous disease, which, in case of inadequate treatment, can lead to serious consequences.
Medication
At the initial stage of the disease, treatment is performed with the help of medications, but often this method of therapy is ineffective and helps only in cases of a very weak, latent variety of edema of the brain.
Surgical
The most commonly used therapeutic methods for hydrocephalus are surgical, as they give a better chance of complete recovery.
Shunting
The most common method of surgical intervention in hydrocephalus is ventriculo-peritoneal bypass.
For this, special silicone catheters with valves are introduced into the cranial cavity, through which fluid from the brain is diverted into the abdominal cavity. Thus, the optimal pressure of the intracranial fluid is maintained.
The amount of liquor flowing from the cranial cavity is regulated by special valves.
Complications of shunting operations
The disadvantage of this method is the small diameter of the shunt. The tube easily bends and clogs and in a few years goes wrong - in this case it is required to replace it. This procedure should be performed immediately, which is problematic if the patient is far from the clinic.
Other possible complications in bypass:
- shunt infection;
- infection of the ventricles of the brain and meninges;
- hyperdrilling( too rapid outflow of liquor);
- hypodrenation( too slow outflow);
External drainage systems
This method of removing fluid from the ventricles of the brain is used in extreme cases, when it is impossible to remove the liquor by other methods.
This operation is accompanied by the greatest number of complications, of which the most dangerous are associated with a high risk of infection.
Because of this, dangerous inflammation can occur. In this case, the infected drainage is removed in an emergency.
Endoscopic treatment of hydrocephalus
A new modern treatment for hydrocephalus is endoscopic ventriculostomy. This operation is more often done in foreign clinics, in Russia this technique is not widely used due to the high cost of equipment. The method is safe and reliable.
Doctors penetrate into the brain channels using a special device - a neuroendoscope with a mini-video camera, the image of which is transferred to a computer monitor. According to the picture, surgeons see exactly where to intervene in order to create an outflow of liquor. Then, with the help of a special catheter, an orifice is made and the fluid flows unobstructed from the brain along the bypass path.
Folk methods
Treatment of hydrocephalus in people's ways can hardly be effective and can only bring temporary relief to the patient. There are folk recipes for broths and infusions, which should be drunk with a dropsy.
Plants that are used in these methods - gorisvet, parsley, bearberry, oregano, cornflower. It should be remembered that no independent treatment of dropsy can be carried out without the approval of the attending physician.
Restorative treatment of
Restorative treatment after surgery is compliance with standard medical prescriptions. The operated child should be protected from possible infections and head injuries, falls, bruises and excessive motor activity.
Often, high blood pressure can be associated with a vegetative-vascular dystonia of a mixed type, which due to its characteristics is difficult to diagnose.
After reading this article, you will learn about the causes of intracranial pressure in infants, and also you can read all about brain encephalitis in children by clicking on the following link http: //gidmed.com/ bolezni-nevrologii / infekcionnye-zabolevanija / entsefalit-golovnogo-mozga.html
Consequencesdiseases and prophylaxis
The prognosis for edema of the brain directly depends on the timeliness of the diagnosis and the appointment of appropriate treatment.
Children who were diagnosed and operated on time are able to develop and live normally( possibly with some restrictions, and sometimes even without them).
Follow the shunt status and undergo a regular medical examination.
Time-cured infectious diseases in the mother during the period of gestation and the newborn in the first weeks and months of life - the best prevention against hydrocephalus.
It is also necessary to conduct regular ultrasound examinations and medical examinations at an early age.
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