title: Surgical treatment of idiopathic hydrocephalus in elderly patients.
abstract: We studied 45 adult patients with idiopathic hydrocephalus who had undergone a shunting procedure at the Mayo Clinic during a 16-year period. The follow-up period extended up to 157 months. Thirty-four of the 45 patients (75%) improved at some time after the operation, and 19 (42%) experienced continuous improvement. The median duration of improvement was 24 months. Patients who had symptoms for less than 2 years were most likely to improve. CT played an important role in the diagnosis and follow-up, but ventricular size or degree of atrophy did not correlate with response.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000145:classification; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D006850:Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009192:Myelography; D011594:Psychometrics; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed