Normal pressure hydrocephalus co-existing with a second dementia disorder

Abstract

An 87-year-old woman had both Lewy body dementia and normal pressure hydrocephalus simultaneously. One should not automatically exclude the possibility of normal pressure hydrocephalus simply because another neurodegenerative disorder is present, especially if the second disorder masks typical symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus. Better identification of dual diagnosis patients could lead to improvements in gait and incontinence following ventriculoperitoneal or lumboperitoneal shunting, even if the natural history of the other neurodegenerative disease remains unchanged.

Keywords: Lewy body dementia; dementia; gait disorder; normal pressure hydrocephalus; ventriculoperitoneal shunt.