{"id":12191,"date":"2025-06-05T20:36:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T20:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=12191"},"modified":"2025-06-05T20:36:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T20:36:29","slug":"normal-pressure-hydrocephalus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus\/","title":{"rendered":"Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12192 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Normal pressure cephalus (NPH) is a condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain.<\/p>\n<p>Normal pressure hydrocephalus can affect several brain-related abilities, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thinking and concentration<\/li>\n<li>Memory<\/li>\n<li>Movement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are two forms of normal pressure hydrocephalus, and they happen at equal rates. The two types are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Primary (idiopathic) NPH means that it isn&#8217;t happening because of another medical condition, and the cause is unknown. Experts suspect idiopathic NPH can involve one or more age-related issues with how the body makes, circulates, and reabsorbs cerebrospinal fluid. About half the cases of NPH are idiopathic.<\/li>\n<li>Secondary NPH happens when another medical condition affects how the body makes, circulates, or reabsorbs cerebrospinal fluid. Some examples of conditions that can cause secondary NPH include:\n<ul>\n<li>A brain aneurysm<\/li>\n<li>Intracranial hemorrhage<\/li>\n<li>Brain tumors, including cancer<\/li>\n<li>Encephalitis or meningitis<\/li>\n<li>Stroke<\/li>\n<li>Traumatic brain injuries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Normal pressure hydrocephalus is usually difficult to diagnose because it shares several symptoms with dementia and similar age-related conditions. It is also common for NPH to happen at the same time as age-related conditions. About 30% of people with NPH also have Alzheimer&#8217;s or a similar degenerative brain disease.<\/p>\n<p>The symptoms of NPH usually start gradually, and develop and worsen over three to six months. The three main symptoms of NPH are known as Hakim&#8217;s triad. Between 50% and 75% of people with NPH show all three symptoms at the same time. Hakim&#8217;s triad includes three types of symptoms, which include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gait issues are the most likely of the three symptoms to occur. About 80% to 95% of people with NPH show this kind of symptom. Some of these symptoms may resemble movement-related symptoms of Parkinson&#8217;s disease, however, a key difference is that NPH symptoms typically only affect the legs and feet. If you have NPH, it often causes the following:\n<ul>\n<li>Trouble lifting your feet<\/li>\n<li>Taking shorter and unsteady steps<\/li>\n<li>Hesitating or walking uncertainly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Urinary incontinence is when you lose control of your bladder, causing you to pee unintentionally. Early on, this can cause a strong urge to pee often that is difficult to control.<\/li>\n<li>Cognitive difficulties are the third key symptom of NPH and can appear as or cause any of the following:\n<ul>\n<li>Mental and physical slowness<\/li>\n<li>Memory problems<\/li>\n<li>Executive dysfunction<\/li>\n<li>Emotional changes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A healthcare provider can diagnose NPH using a combination of methods that include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>physical and neurological exams<\/li>\n<li>Asking questions about your medical history and symptoms<\/li>\n<li>diagnostic imaging, such as an MRI, cisternogram scan, and CT scans<\/li>\n<li>Lab tests, such as a spinal tap<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Depending on your symptoms, a healthcare provider may recommend other tests to rule out conditions that have symptoms similar to NPH.<\/p>\n<p>NPH is usually a treatable disease. The approach to treatment varies depending on whether it is primary\/idiopathic or secondary NPH. Unlike most brain-related conditions, treating NPH rarely involves medications because NPH doesn&#8217;t respond to medications.<\/p>\n<p>Primary\/idiopathic NPH is usually treatable, with the most common and most effective treatment being surgery to implant a device called a shunt.<\/p>\n<p>Secondary NPH may be curable, only if it happens because of a curable condition. The treatment for secondary NPH varies depending on the underlying cause. A healthcare provider is the best person to tell you about the possible treatments and what they recommend.<\/p>\n<p>If you commonly experience symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus or other brain-related conditions, you can receive specialized treatment from a neurologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center&#8217;s Ambulatory Care Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (718)-206-7001.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Normal pressure cephalus (NPH) is a condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain. Normal pressure hydrocephalus can affect several brain-related abilities, including: Thinking and concentration Memory Movement There are two forms &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/normal-pressure-hydrocephalus\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1,61,14,399,4],"tags":[2192],"class_list":["post-12191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-health","category-lifestyle","category-mens-health","category-neurological-disorder","category-womens-health","tag-normal-pressure-hydrocephalus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12193,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191\/revisions\/12193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}