View clinical trials related to Hydrocephalus.
Filter by:This research is being done to determine the accuracy of two noninvasive methods of measuring the pressure of the spinal fluid, also known as intracranial pressure (ICP).
This study is to verify the use of a hand held tool to verify the new setting of a hydrocephalus shunt (proGAV). This tool would be used in place of an Xray of the patient's head, which is how settings are verified currently.
Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a treatable and a common disease of the elderly. The overall objective of this work is to describe cardio- and cerebrovascular risk factors and vascular disease in shunted INPH-patients compared to an age- and sex matched elderly population, as well as the impact of vascular risk factors and vascular co-morbidity on clinical symptoms and outcome of surgery in INPH-patients. The hypothesis is that INPH-patients have a higher level of vascular risk factors and subclinical organ damage than a normal elderly population, and that the higher the level of existing vascular risk factors, the more severe the symptoms of the hydrocephalic disease.
The idea is to assess the predictive value of flow magnetic resonance imaging (flow MRI) for patient suffering normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) planned for surgery. By now, the depletive lumbar puncture is the best test assessing the efficacy of a forthcoming surgery. The idea is to demonstrate that flow MRI can be as effective as lumbar puncture in term of predictive value of surgery response. In that way, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics are evaluated by a single non invasive examination. CSF flow is measured at the Sylvius' aqueduct, cervical, arachnoid space and 4th ventricle levels.
Failure of ventricular catheters remains a significant problem in patients with hydrocephalus. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of a simple instrument assisted by a smart phone application software can achieve a more precise placement of ventricular catheters than the standard free-hand placement technique.
Ventriculoperitoneal shunts are the standard of care for patients with communicating hydrocephalus, but they have a high failure rate - up to 40% fail within 1 year and 50% fail within 2 years. It has long been assumed that endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) would not work in this population and is better suited to patients with obstructive hydrocephalus (such as from a tumor blocking cerebral-spinal fluid (CSF) pathways). However, as scientists learn more about CSF and the way our brains absorb this fluid, they have learned that this may not be so straight-forward. Recent small studies have shown that ETVs can work in a good percentage of children with communicating hydrocephalus, too. But no randomized controlled trials have been done to compare these two treatments directly to determine which will provide children with a better prognosis, fewer surgeries over their lifetime, less time in the hospital and the greatest chance at as normal a life as possible. The investigators will conduct a trial to compare these two surgical treatments where patients will be randomized to receive either a shunt or an ETV. Because ETV has been shown to have a high failure rate in newborns, the investigators will not include these patients and instead will study patients who come to Duke University with communicating hydrocephalus between the ages of 1 year and 18 years. The study will include patients with ventricular shunts who are in need of revision and patients who were just diagnosed and need their first shunt. All patients who agree to participate will be randomized to receive either an ETV or a shunt. The study team will follow them for one year from the time of the surgery and will determine what percentage of patients require further CSF-related surgeries, how long they go after their surgery before they need another surgery, how much time they spend in the hospital and what percentage of patients suffer CSF-infections or other problems related to the surgery or their hydrocephalus. The study team will examine these results and determine if ETV is a safer or more effective treatment for children with communicating hydrocephalus than is a ventricular shunt.
The purpose of this study is to determine the role of Proteomics and Metallomics in Cerebral Vasospasm following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
The goal of our study is to verify the effectiveness of the shunt and to identify the most sensitive criteria to select patients for surgery. The study is designed to assess improvement in walking and balance (gait), urinary function and memory after shunting. In addition, the study aims to identify the most accurate and sensitive tools to measure improvement for our patients.
This multicenter, prospective study of children with hydrocephalus will examine whether or not ventricle size is associated with poor cognitive outcomes. It is expected that results will indicate larger ventricular size at 6 months after surgery for the initial treatment of hydrocephalus will relate to poorer cognitive outcomes. This study is being conducted by the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (HCRN), a network established to conduct multi-institutional clinical trials on pediatric hydrocephalus.
In treating idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus with a shunt there is always a risk of underdrainage or overdrainage. The hypothesis is tested whether treatment of patients with an adjustable valve preset at the highest opening pressure (OPV), leads to comparable clinical results with less subdural effusions than in a control group with an opening pressure preset and kept fixed at a low pressure level.