[A peculiar mechanism of hydrocephalus: the "water-hammering" effect].
OBJECTIVE
Aneurysms of the basilar artery can cause hydrocephalus due to compression of the third ventricle or the sylvian aqueduct. The observation of a particular case led to discuss another possible mechanism of hydrocephalus.
An aneurysm of the basilar artery was revealed by an ischemic stroke in a 65-year-old man. Hydrocephalus developed during the following months. The MRI studies showed that it could not be explained merely by a permanent compression. However, the patient improved clearly after a ventriculo-peritoneal derivation.


CONCLUSIONS
The hydrocephalus could be explained by a "water-hammering" effect due to the pulsating blood in the ectatic vessel, which created a cerebrospinal fluid outflow impairment through the third ventricle.
Service de Neurologie, Centre Hospitalier, Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
M
M
Marinescu
A
A
Remy
H
H
Dufour
P
P
Derome
H
H
Cambon
D000368:Aged; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Un mécanisme particulier d'hydrocéphalie: l'effet "coup de marteau".