Video - Normal pressure hydrocephalus

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a condition characterized by ventricular enlargement, without an increase in cerebrospinal fluid pressure on lumbar puncture. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates slowly and gradually in the ventricles, causing them to dilate. Ventricular dilation restores the CSF pressure to the normal level, hence the normal findings on lumbar puncture.

People with normal pressure hydrocephalus present with urinary incontinence, gait disturbances, and dementia. The excess amount of CSF can be temporarily drained through a lumbar puncture, but the long-term management is a surgical procedure called a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, in which a tube is inserted into one of the ventricles of the brain and directed to the abdomen, where the excess CSF can be absorbed.