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. 2016 Apr 20:2:2333721416643702.
doi: 10.1177/2333721416643702. eCollection 2016 Jan-Dec.

Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A Review for General Practitioners

Basant R Nassar  1 , Carol F Lippa  1
Affiliations

Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: A Review for General Practitioners

Basant R Nassar et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a potentially reversible neurodegenerative disease commonly characterized by a triad of dementia, gait, and urinary disturbance. Advancements in diagnosis and treatment have aided in properly identifying and improving symptoms in patients. However, a large proportion of iNPH patients remain either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Using PubMed search engine of keywords "normal pressure hydrocephalus," "diagnosis," "shunt treatment," "biomarkers," "gait disturbances," "cognitive function," "neuropsychology," "imaging," and "pathogenesis," articles were obtained for this review. The majority of the articles were retrieved from the past 10 years. The purpose of this review article is to aid general practitioners in further understanding current findings on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of iNPH.

Keywords: diagnosis; normal pressure hydrocephalus; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A and B: CT scan of a 71-year-old female with normal cognitive function showing normal ventricular size; C and D: CT scan of a 68-year-old female with iNPH showing enlarged ventricles at the level of the parietal and temporal lobes. Note. Images B and D show normal sized gyri and sulci. CT = computed tomography; iNPH = Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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