Happy subject for a saturday afternoon - but one to keep in mind perhaps
The human brain has a mechanism which involves fluid (CSF) that is produced in the brain, and then flows down through the base of the skull and is then re absorbed back into the body. This system is meant to be there, and where it does not function there are problems.
It is the case that sometimes an AN can cause a blockage in the passage of this fluid
and this can cause pressure to build up. It is usually associated with the larger AN`s, 2.5cms and bigger. It is quite rare even in the larger cases, and very, very, rarely smaller tumours cause problems.
Sometimes a smaller Tumour is linked to excessive fluid production,
or a thickening of the fluid – which still causes pressure issues.
Finally, of course, Hydro can exist without an AN cause.
Symptoms -The pressure increase causes many effects but these are very gradual which can make diagnosis quite difficult – most cases it will take an MRI to confirm one-way all the other.
Most of the brain is soft tissue that can be compressed by this pressure increase – in this situation certain functions may be reduced
- headaches and or feeling sick a lot + maybe poor balance.
- In my case I lost my sense of smell, but other symptoms are possible
and no two cases are ever quite identical
As the condition progresses the patient will move from feeling slightly nauseous most of the time – to being VERY sick MOST of the time.
One patient on the old list (Mona Lisa?) actually collapsed and was only found when the police broke into her flat.
Other typical symptoms include headaches and balance issues
-so sometimes hard to tell from the general AN situation.
The whole process can take months to have any effect
- though the sudden change from shunt failure is measured in hours.
In most cases once the condition is treated things return to normal.
Danger- There is however one nasty to be aware of – under certain conditions the increased pressure creates immense strain on the optic nerves. This typically causes flickering or blurring vision and sometimes temporary grey outs or white outs – centre vision blindness for 3-5 seconds. (And in both eyes).
This is a dangerous condition and needs hospitalisation asap. If it is treated soon enough then no long-term damage occurs – if left too long then it can be permanent.
This condition is called “Papilledema� – it is very rare, but a good doctor can spot it by looking into the back in the eyes at the nerve mechanism.
How to fix it – most cases of can be fixed by placing a small tube in the skull and running it to the stomach – procedure is called a shunt.
As AN ops go it is quite minor – and you might be home in two or three days.
Recovery is good and most things return to normal in a few weeks.
Rarely (4-5%) the shunt fails – in that it gets blocked or leaks in some way
Then the procedure has to be repeated.
Overall prognosis is quite good and the average life of a shunt is around 10 years – though in most cases the tumour is removed before this time and the source of the problem will have gone.
Conclusion – Hydrocephalus is hard to diagnose for a professional, it is not
A “Herbal Tea� of “Positive Thinking� type of fix. Owing to the sight danger
it is always best to get it checked by a specialist – better safe than sorry.
In most cases the shunt solves the problem, and no long term ill effects remain.
Best Regards
Tony
