Hydrocephalus.

1. Diamond Speight 3/5/13 Psychology (honors) Hydrocephalus.

2. Hydrocephalus/ “water in the brain” • Hydrocephalus is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles or cavities of the brain. This may cause an enlargement in the head, convulsions, tunnel vision and mental disability. Hydrocephalus can also cause death. The name derives from the Greek word “Hydro” meaning water and “Kephalus” meaning head .Their are over five different types of hydrocephalic disorders.

3. The cause of hydrocephalus • The cause of this disease is from impaired cerebrospinal fluid and over production of the cerebrospinal fluid. Its transmitted by genetics. In infants with hydrocephalus the CSF, builds up in the central nervous system, causing the soft spot of the Childs head to bulge and grow larger than expected.

4. Target Population • The target population relies on young children and infants. Even though there is no nation registry or database of people this this condition, researches say that it affects 1 to 500 children.

5. How the condition affects the CNS. • The CSF fluid of Hydrocephalus pushes the brain up against the skull and damage the brain tissue. It can injure the brain permanently and it can cause mental and physical development issue, it’s usual very fatal.

6. Symptoms of hydrocephalus. • Symptoms of hydrocephalus vary with age, disease progression, and individual differences in tolerance to the condition. An infant's ability to gain the CSF fluid is higher and enlargement of the ventricles differs from an adult's. The infant skull can expand to accommodate the buildup of CSF because the sutures (the fibrous joints that connect the bones of the skull) have not yet closed. • Other possible causes include complications of premature birth such as intraventricular hemorrhage, diseases such as meningitis, tumors, traumatic head injury or subarachnoid hemorrhage, which block the exit of CSF from the ventricles to the cisterns or eliminate the passageway for CSF into the cisterns.

7. Symptoms for young children/Infants • Unusually large head size • Vomiting • Sleepiness • Irritability • Downward deviation of the eyes (sun setting) • Seizures

8. Symptoms for older children/Adults. • Brief, shrill, high-pitched cry • Changes in personality, memory, or the ability to reason or think. • Changes in facial appearance and eye spacing • Crossed eyes or uncontrolled eye movements • Difficulty feeding Excessive sleepiness • Headache Irritability • poor temper control • Loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence) • Loss of coordination and trouble walking • Muscle spasticity (spasm) • Slow growth

9. Prognosis • The prognosis for individuals diagnosed with hydrocephalus is hard to predict. Hydrocephalus poses risk to both cognitive and physical development, many children who has this condition benefit from the rehabilitation therapies and educational interventions.

10. Cure/Treatment • Hydrocephalus is a surgical procedure. It involves a tube that’s made of silastic, which is flexible silicon, into the cerebral ventricles to bypass the flow and drain the excess fluid into other body cavities. • Its also called a shunt system, this system diverts the flow of CSF from the CNS to another area of the body, where it can be absorbed as part of the normal circulatory process.

11. Celebrities with hydrocephalus.

12. Ferdinand I • Ferdinand I was the emperor of Austria. He had mild to moderate hydrocephalus which contributed to his epilepsy and low intelligence. His parents were double first cousins, and they believe that due to their genetic closeness, he suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems and speech impediment.

13. Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr • Sherman is a poet, writer, filmmaker and on occasions a comedian. One of his famous works are “The Lane Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” which he wrote in 1994. He was born an native American reservation in Seattle Washington. Sherman was born with hydrocephalus and had brain surgery when he was six months old. It was concluded that he wouldn’t survive the surgery and if he did then he would have mental disabilities. But his surgery was successful and had no mental outlooks. He suffered from seizures and bedwetting and had to take strong medication to control it.

14. Jason Voorhees • Jason Voorhees is the fictional character from the movies “Friday the 13th”. He's a masked murderer who kills his victims with a machete. He wears the hockey mask to hide his condition of very dysfunctional features to his face.

15. Organizations and medical faculties.

16. Hydrocephalus Association • Hydrocephalus Association4340 East West HighwaySuite 905Bethesda, MD   20814info@hydroassoc.orghttp://www.hydroassoc.orgTel: 301-202-3811 888-598-3789Fax: 301-202-3813

17. Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation • Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation2004 Green Hollow DriveIselin, NJ   08830info@hydrocephaluskids.orghttp://www.HydrocephalusKids.orgTel: 732-634-1283

18. National Hydrocephalus Foundation • National Hydrocephalus Foundation12413 Centralia RoadLakewood, CA   90715-1653debbifields@nhfonline.orghttp://nhfonline.orgTel: 562-924-6666 888-857-3434

19. Credible Resources • http://www.ninds.nih.gov • http://www.medicinenet.com • http://www.sharecare.com