Does hydrocephalus affect intelligence?

Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
Updated on September 02, 2024
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Mild hydrocephalus generally does not significantly affect intellectual levels, while moderate or severe hydrocephalus often impacts a patient’s intelligence. In children, it can cause severe impairment in intellectual development. For adults, it results in noticeable intellectual deficiencies, primarily characterized by significant cognitive dysfunction, reduced memory, diminished calculating abilities, and weakened verbal communication skills. Additionally, individuals may appear indifferent, speak less, are reluctant to interact with others, and have difficulty expressing themselves. Furthermore, most patients experience reduced orientation abilities concerning time, people, and space, which are predominantly caused by hydrocephalus.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Symptoms of hydrocephalus

For patients with hydrocephalus, it often leads to a series of symptoms and signs. For example, patients may experience mild cognitive impairments, manifesting as obvious memory loss, reduced intelligence, and weakened orientation ability in terms of time, space, and person recognition. In addition, most patients also suffer from motor dysfunction, showing symptoms like weakness in one or both legs, difficulty walking, unstable gait, and a tendency to fall. Some patients might even experience changes in emotion and personality. As the condition of cerebral hemorrhage gradually progresses, patients may exhibit symptoms of increased intracranial pressure.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
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Can fetal hydrocephalus be kept?

Whether fetal hydrocephalus should result in termination must be determined based on a specific analysis of the particular medical condition at that time. Fetal hydrocephalus is merely a manifestation of an illness. It is essential to understand the root cause of the hydrocephalus to make a clear decision regarding the options available. If the hydrocephalus is combined with cranial malformations or abnormalities in the cerebral gyri and sulci or other congenital development defects, in general, such conditions are not survivable even into adulthood. There is no possibility of survival, and even if surgery is performed later, it cannot provide an effective treatment. However, in cases where conditions such as spina bifida occur, with active surgical intervention, these can have a very positive prognosis. Therefore, it is crucial to clearly identify the specific medical condition at the time to determine the most appropriate course of action.

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Written by Jiang Fang Shuai
Neurosurgery
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Causes of Hydrocephalus

Under normal conditions, the secretion, circulation, and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) maintain a dynamic balance. In some pathological states, this balance is disrupted, leading to an excessive accumulation of CSF within the ventricular system, a condition known as hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus can be classified into obstructive hydrocephalus and communicating hydrocephalus. The causes of obstructive hydrocephalus mainly include obstructions in the ventricular system, such as congenital malformations or abnormal development of the cerebral aqueduct, which are the most common causes of hydrocephalus in infants. In adults, tumors, bleeding, blockages, or compression of the ventricular system are also common causes of hydrocephalus. Communicating hydrocephalus results primarily from acquired diseases, such as cranial infections or blockages of arachnoid granulations by subarachnoid hemorrhage, leading to impairments in CSF absorption.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Can hydrocephalus be effectively treated?

For patients with hydrocephalus, if timely and effective treatment can be obtained, most patients can achieve very good treatment results. For patients with progressive obstructive hydrocephalus, it is especially important to seize the time to perform surgical treatment in the early stages. Clinically, it is generally recommended to choose ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery, placing a drainage tube in the patient's lateral ventricle, entering the peritoneal cavity through a subcutaneous tunnel, and draining the cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricle to the peritoneal cavity, thereby achieving the purpose of relieving the excessive cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system. After undergoing surgery, the patient's dilated bilateral lateral ventricles can effectively shrink, and conditions such as pre-existing cognitive dysfunction, limb motor dysfunction, and incontinence will improve.

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Written by Shu Zhi Qiang
Neurosurgery
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What is hydrocephalus shunt?

Patients with hydrocephalus usually require shunt surgery, among which the most common is the ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The shunt tube used in this surgery typically features a reservoir, often referred to by patients as a "water basket". Patients are frequently required to press this reservoir to promote the excess cerebral spinal fluid to flow through the shunt tube into the abdominal cavity, where it is absorbed by the omentum. If the reservoir is not pressed, the shunt tube may become blocked, potentially requiring the surgery to be performed again.