Hydrocephalus of the brain in children -a disease that is caused by the accumulation of fluid in the subarachnoid divisions and the ventricular system. The main cause of the disease is excessive production of fluid or difficult outflow of cerebrospinal fluid.
Usually, such parasitic disturbances are provokedor infectious diseases, brain tumors or spikes in it. As a result of these pathological changes, the cerebrospinal fluid accumulates and leads to noticeable changes from the side of the skull. Brain hydrocephalus in children is usually seen with this symptom. After further examinations of children, doctors find other signs of the disease - paralysis, epileptic seizures, visual impairment, thinning of the walls of the brain. It is the thinned walls that can lead to the most severe consequence - the rupture of the ventricles.
If hydrocephalus substitution is diagnosedthe brain, then with this form the brain takes smaller dimensions than usual, and the rest of the space is replaced by cerebrospinal fluid. In this case, the increase in the skull may not be so noticeable.
Brain hydrocephalus in children most oftenis congenital. In this case, the cause of the disease lies in the intra-uterine problems that accompanied at a certain stage of fetal development. That is why in the early stages of pregnancy, women are given an analysis of the spinal cord infection, which makes it possible to diagnose hydrocephalus at the earliest stage. If the diagnosis is unambiguous, women are advised to interrupt pregnancy. Physicians talk about the hydrocephalus of children and in the event that the volume of the head is half that of the norm.
The signs of hydrocephalus, which can be used to identify a disease with mild symptoms of a skull enlargement:
- constant capriciousness of babies, which is caused by intracranial hypertension;
- Lack of normal appetite;
- retardation of reaction;
- marble coloring of the skin;
- excessively open eyes (retraction);
- A look tending down.
Hydrocephalus of the brain in adults isacquired. The causes of such hydrocephalus may be cysts, meningitis and other abnormalities. Symptoms of hydrocephalus in adults are more obvious - a prolonged headache, usually in the nape and forehead, attacks of vomiting and nausea, increased intracranial pressure. Outwardly, hydrocephalus manifests itself in the slowness of movements, the violation of their coordination, the weakening of the intellect, and the breakdown of the reflexes.
The most severe consequences of hydrocephalus are relatedwith the pressure of the liquid on the white matter in the human brain, after which people suffer from migraines, dementia, gait disorders, urinary incontinence.
Brain hydrocephalus in children, as well as in adults, can be of several types depending on the location of the fluid. It can be ventricular (internal), general and external.
In order to accurately recognize the disease, somevisual signs are not enough. Usually, magnetic resonance imaging is used, the fundus is examined, the puncture of the cerebrospinal fluid is taken. For examination of children up to one and a half years old they use neurosonography, which makes it possible to examine the brain before the fontanelle is infected.
Treatment of hydrocephalus is possible only by surgicalby way of. Any medications do not treat the disease, but only reduce intracranial pressure and slow the progression of the disease. Radical methods help in most cases. With the help of surgery, there is an opportunity to adjust the outflow of fluid from the brain. Relapse of the disease is observed very little.
Congenital forms of hydrocephalus require more thorough treatment. If the operation is needed urgently, a gentle intervention is performed using an endoscope.
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