Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Joe M. Das  1 , Milton C. Biagioni  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Joe M. Das et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) (G91.2 by ICD-10), a potentially reversible cause of dementia, is the most common form of hydrocephalus in adults. iNPH is a disorder of the elderly that characteristically presents with progressive gait impairment, cognitive deficits, and urinary urgency and/or incontinence (Hakim-Adams triad - classically described by Colombian neurosurgeon Salomon Hakim and R D Adams in 1965). Gait disturbance with one additional feature is essential to consider the diagnosis; however, the clinical presentation requires further supportive assessment (i.e., imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage) for confirmation. Some experts have challenged the term iNPH, as the intracranial pressure is not always normal in iNPH. The term idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome (iAHS) has also been proposed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Joe Das declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Milton Biagioni declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Adams RD, Fisher CM, Hakim S, Ojemann RG, Sweet WH. SYMPTOMATIC OCCULT HYDROCEPHALUS WITH "NORMAL" CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID PRESSURE. A TREATABLE SYNDROME. N Engl J Med. 1965 Jul 15;273:117-26. - PubMed
    1. Shprecher D, Schwalb J, Kurlan R. Normal pressure hydrocephalus: diagnosis and treatment. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2008 Sep;8(5):371-6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jaraj D, Rabiei K, Marlow T, Jensen C, Skoog I, Wikkelsø C. Prevalence of idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus. Neurology. 2014 Apr 22;82(16):1449-54. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brean A, Fredø HL, Sollid S, Müller T, Sundstrøm T, Eide PK. Five-year incidence of surgery for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus in Norway. Acta Neurol Scand. 2009 Nov;120(5):314-6. - PubMed
    1. Tanaka N, Yamaguchi S, Ishikawa H, Ishii H, Meguro K. Prevalence of possible idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus in Japan: the Osaki-Tajiri project. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(3):171-5. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources