Unfortunately, medicine knows many dangerous diseases. One of them is dropsy of the brain. The causes, consequences, symptoms, methods of treatment of this pathology will be considered in the framework of this material. This disease is referred to as hydrocephalus in a professional language. Its feature is an increase in the ventricles of the brain. It occurs due to excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid). In most cases, this disease is diagnosed in newborns. However, older children may be at risk. Also, pathology develops in adults.
Briefly about the disease
Hydrocephalus is characterized by the fact that cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in large quantities in the ventricular system of the brain. This happens due to a violation of the production or absorption of cerebrospinal fluid. This clear liquid is formed by salts, protein substances, cells. With hydrocephalus (dropsy of the brain), a child may accumulate about 50 ml of cerebrospinal fluid. With the disease of adults, this amount is approximately doubled.
If a person is healthy, then the cerebrospinal fluid produced is absorbed in the required volume. Thus, the absorption and generation processes are balanced. The volume of CSF does not increase, remaining stable. In a healthy body, about 0.5 l of cerebrospinal fluid is produced per day in the brain.
What causes dropsy?
- disturbance of circulation;
- insufficient absorption (very slow);
- excess production of cerebrospinal fluid.
Classification
Dropsy of the brain (see the article for photos of people with such a disease) can be primary (congenital) and secondary (acquired). The latter form is diagnosed if hydrocephalus was provoked by other pathologies that gave complication to the vascular system of the brain.
After studying the pathogenesis, scientists identified three types of dropsy:
- communicating;
- increased secretion;
- occlusion (vascular obstruction).
The disease can occur in chronic, subacute and acute forms. As for the latter, the pathology develops very rapidly, symptoms appear within three days. The subacute form is characterized by reduced intensity. It develops in about one month. And the longest period has a chronic form. With it, it is possible to diagnose disorders in the functioning of the brain after 6 or more months.
When a person has a failure of the processes of production and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid, this affects the pressure. Therefore, in medicine, three categories are classified:
- pressure is normal;
- low rates;
- high.
Kinds
Above were considered forms of dropsy of the brain. However, doctors also classify this disease and the place of accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid. They distinguish three types:
- General or mixed. It is characterized by the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid throughout the brain. That is, it fills not only the ventricles, but also the subarachnoid space.
- Interior. The accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid is localized only in the ventricles.
- External (external). Cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the subarachnoid space (near the cranium).
Dropsy of the brain in a newborn: causes
As mentioned above, most often brain hydrocephalus is diagnosed in newborns. As a rule, a severe form of childbirth provokes this pathology. In this situation, the child may be seriously injured. Also, the cause of the occurrence is a long period of childbirth after the discharge of amniotic fluid.
This disease can also occur in the fetus, which is still in the womb. In this case, the precursors are viral and infectious diseases that a woman was ill during pregnancy. The most dangerous are toxoplasmosis, herpes, cytomegaly. Dropsy of the brain in infants is determined in the first months of life. Diagnosed as congenital.
But if the child is already 5 years or more, then hydrocephalus will be acquired. It can occur against the background of serious diseases:
- neoplasms of the spinal cord and brain (tumor);
- genetic disorders;
- tuberculosis;
- severe head injuries;
- inflammatory processes (encephalitis, meningitis);
- malformations and hemorrhages.
Unfortunately, there are often such situations that doctors cannot determine the source that provoked the development of dropsy.
Why do adults get sick?
Not only babies are diagnosed with brain hydrocephalus. Unfortunately, a person’s age does not protect him from this dangerous disease. At risk, all people, without exception.
Causes of dropsy of the brain in adults:
- traumatic brain injury;
- oncology;
- hemorrhage;
- complications after surgery;
- atrophy (reduction of organic tissue);
- meningitis, arterial hypertension, stroke, atherosclerosis.
Symptoms in children
Having dealt with the causes of dropsy of the brain, it is necessary to talk about the symptoms of this disease. Given the danger of diagnosis, each parent should take the following symptoms very seriously.
So, let's look at the most common symptoms in children:
- the child’s head grows rapidly, looks like a ball;
- frequent and plentiful regurgitation;
- developmental delay;
- pallor of the skin;
- eye displacement, strabismus, decreased vision;
- cramps and trembling of the limbs, chin;
- irritable behavior;
- head tilting;
- there is no ripple in the fontanel; it rises significantly above the skull.
It is important to consider that in older children, the head will not increase with the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. This is explained by fused bones of the skull. But the lack of a visual change in the child’s head, unfortunately, does not exclude the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid. If he has severe headaches, weakness, a feeling of nausea, vomiting, impaired vision and hearing, you should consult a doctor. In this case, it is possible to confirm or refute the diagnosis only by making a tomography.
Dropsy of the brain in adults: symptoms
In most cases, in adults, as in children, the disease manifests itself with similar symptoms. These include:
- intense headaches, weakness, noises, and dizziness;
- impaired neurological function and impaired motor system;
- significant decrease in vision;
- feeling of nausea turning into vomiting;
- depressed state, apathy, decreased performance;
- epilepsy attacks.
Most older people also have an increase in intracranial pressure. Deviation from the norm can be completely insignificant. As a rule, in this case, doctors diagnose normotensive hydrocephalus.
If the pressure inside the skull remains normal, then atrophy of the brain most likely occurs. It does not increase due to the fact that the tissues are reduced in size, and the cerebrospinal fluid fills the free space. With this course, mixed replacement hydrocephalus is put.
External hydrocephalus: features
With an external type of disease, cerebrospinal fluid accumulates near the bones of the skull. In an open form, the cerebrospinal fluid freely communicates with all places of localization. Also, pathology can manifest itself in a different way. In a closed form, there is no communication between the areas of fluid accumulation.
What are the symptoms of dropsy of the brain in adults of the external type?
- Double vision.
- Weakness.
- Fatigue.
- Headache.
- Nausea.
- Impaired coordination.
- Drowsiness.
- Urinary incontinence.
However, doctors are also aware of cases where external hydrocephalus develops asymptomatically. A person for a long time does not even feel a headache. Such a course corresponds to a moderate type of pathology. This form is the most insidious, as it does not allow to detect the disease in the early stages. Most often diagnosed by chance with a comprehensive examination. Deterioration may occur suddenly. It provokes weak cerebral circulation.
Internal hydrocephalus
Internal dropsy of the brain is a disease in which fluid is localized in the ventricles. Most often, the cause of its accumulation is poor absorption of cerebrospinal fluid by tissues. In an acquired form, pathology occurs after a stroke, infectious disease or with thrombosis.
Internal hydrocephalus can occur in a moderate form. In this case, it does not manifest itself. In other forms, it is accompanied by headache, decreased vision, hearing loss, nausea.
Diagnostics
It is worth considering that even the totality of all the symptoms listed above does not yet indicate the development of hydrocephalus. An accurate diagnosis can only be made after a comprehensive examination. First of all, the doctor examines the fundus. At the slightest suspicion, CT, neurosonography and MRI are prescribed. The primary diagnosis is made by neurologists, therapists, neurosurgeons and neonatologists. If a child is suspected of dropsy of the brain, then the pediatrician writes out for examination.
To diagnose pathology in children, neurosonography is used. This method is possible only if the fontanel has not yet closed. Older babies, but not yet two years old, do an ultrasound scan. Such an examination is possible due to the thin bones of the skull, for example, the temporal. However, doctors do not consider it accurate. With absolute certainty, one can determine the expansion of the ventricles and the presence of other formations only with the help of MRI.
The diagnosis in adults is slightly different. Doctors pay more attention to complaints of well-being. A neurological examination is also performed. If there are suspicions of dropsy, then the patient is sent to an MRI. As in the case of children, such a study allows you to accurately diagnose. In addition, the doctor may refer the patient to radiography or angiography.
Treatment
With a slow course of development of dropsy of the brain in adults, conservative treatment is used. As a rule, it is possible if an open form is diagnosed.
Conservative therapy includes:
- Decreased intracranial pressure. For this, the doctor prescribes drugs such as Furosemide, Diacarb. The positive effect does not occur rapidly. They take these medications for a long time - sometimes several months.
- Reduce accumulated fluid. Used drugs "Mannitol", "Glycerin."
- Strengthening blood vessels. This can be achieved by taking potassium.
- Decreased cerebrospinal fluid production. For an effective result, Acetazolamide is prescribed.
- Fluid removal. Applies only to infants. Puncture is done through the fontanel.
- Fighting the sources of the disease. With secondary hydrocephalus, it is necessary to cure the disease that provoked the development of pathology.
- Strengthening the body. To treat a dangerous disease, a person will need strength. For this, the body is strengthened with vitamins.
If conservative therapy has not yielded positive results, then doctors make a decision about surgery. In this case, there is a high probability of complete healing. By agreeing to the operation, rather deplorable consequences can be avoided. Dropsy of the brain without treatment leads to the death of the patient.
Contraindications for surgery
The effectiveness of surgical intervention leaves no doubt. However, the patient may not always be operated on. This method has contraindications. For example, surgical treatment of dropsy of the brain is not prescribed for those patients who have inflammatory processes in the lining of the brain. Also, an operation cannot be done if a person suffers from epilepsy, deafness, blindness. Unfortunately, this group includes people suffering from mental illness.
Bypass surgery
There are several methods of surgical intervention. One of them is bypass surgery. In the fight against this pathology, it has been considered quite effective for several years. Used to remove excess fluid.
What is the essence of this method? If a dropsy of the brain was diagnosed, then a shunt is established during the operation. Catheters are placed in the lateral ventricles. The design of this device has a valve that regulates the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid. Fluid is discharged into the abdominal cavity or atrial region using a peripheral catheter.
Unfortunately, bypass surgery, although an effective way, is far from safe. After such an operation, complications may occur:
- Slow outflow of cerebrospinal fluid.
- Damage to the shunt system.
- Infection and, as a result, infection.
- Failure in the installed system.
If such complications arose, then the patient will have to undergo a second operation.
Effects
In patients diagnosed with hydrocephalus, an irreversible process of tissue necrosis may begin. As a result, the blood supply is disturbed. In turn, this leads to atrophy. If the disease is already at this stage, then no treatment will help. People in this condition get disability. Over time, motor ability is impaired. A person loses the ability to move independently. Mental abilities are also irreversibly lost.
Many people ask: "How long do they live with dropsy of the brain?" Forecasts will depend on many factors. If hydrocephalus is congenital, then there is every chance that at some point it will stop its growth. In this situation, you can completely recover. But for patients in whom dropsy progresses rapidly, the prognosis is disappointing. With this course of the disease, children rarely live up to 5 years.
The consequences of this pathology are quite serious. Often patients develop a dislocation syndrome. Due to the fact that the parts of the brain are compressed, an offset occurs. And this, in turn, leads to impaired brain activity. Patients are depressed, and sometimes can fall into a coma.
Prevention
Hydrocephalus is better prevented than then treated. It must be understood that there is no magic pill for this disease. The quality of life of patients is significantly deteriorating, and newborn children cannot fully develop. Given that this pathology can lead to the death of the patient, it is necessary to know and carry out all preventive measures. Only this will help to avoid all the fatal consequences.
Dropsy of the brain in a newborn in some cases appears due to the neglect of the expectant mother. During pregnancy, it is important not to self-medicate, and even more so not to decide on your own which medications to take. All this should be monitored by health professionals. It is recommended to abandon viral injections. If necessary, vaccinations are given before pregnancy. Naturally, in no case should you smoke and drink alcohol in this state.
As for adults, they need to take health seriously. Undergo routine medical examinations. This will identify the disease at an early stage. And as doctors assure, the treatment started on time increases the patient's chances of recovery. It is important to protect your head from injuries, lead a healthy lifestyle, actively spend time in the fresh air and monitor your diet. If you strengthen the immune system, then most diseases will be fearless.