NPH + ???

My mother has been undergoing testing for months and we still do not have a solid answer about what is wrong.  The doctors are saying that she has Normal Pressure Hydochephalus, but she is also exhibiting symptoms unrelated to NPH.  Her reflexes are very jumpy and her walking is very choppy.  She explains that when she is sitting for long periods or lays down to go to sleep her quad muscles tighten uncomfortably. When the doctor performs simple reflex tests, such as hitting her knee, her leg seems to jump all the way from her hip.  Any ideas what could be causing this?  It was determined that there are no tumors.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Hi, Thank you for your question to the forum. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which the cerebrospinal fluid gets abnormally accumulated in the brain cavities.  This may cause increased intra cranial pressure leading to headache, convulsions, mental disability etc. It is constantly being formed in the ventricles of brain and drained out to circulatory system through special foramens. Hydrocephalus occurs due to either blockage of these foramens or overproduction of CSF. The treatment of hydrocephalus is surgical shunt placement. An alternative treatment for obstructive hydrocephalus is endoscopic third ventriculostomy but it may not be applicable to all patients depending upon internal anatomy of brain. Hope this information proved helpful.

[Yvette BG]

My mother has hydrocephalus, too. Many times people with the condition will have a choppy walk like a shuffly gait; in my mother's case, she also had trouble walking a straight line and walked like she was drinking at times. Keep in mind that not everyone's symptoms of hydrocephalus are exactly the same...and the longer hydrocephalus goes untreated, the more symptoms can change and get worse. (This is what happened with my mother.)  

As fas as reflexes go, deep tendon reflexes may be increased in the lower legs of someone who has hydrocephalus.

Have the doctors done a lumbar puncture test yet? If not, I would strongly recommend you  get one done ASAP. They remove spinal fluid and if the person's walking, speech, etc. improves afterwards, then that tells the doctors that putting a permanent brain shunt in to drain off the excess fluid is a treatment option. (Not everyone with hydrocephalus is a candidate for surgery.)

The faster they do brain shunt surgery if she is a candidate for it, the better. The longer excess spinal fluid hangs around, the more damage it can do to the brain and neurologically as well as to the other major body organs. Also, she is at risk of falling, hitting her head as well as breaking bones.    

Please keep us posted.

Best of luck,
Yvette