Children's and adults' cerebral cortex

A cerebral cortex is a serious disease,which is characterized by the accumulation of excess fluid in the system of the ventricles of the brain. In the normal functioning of the body, the cerebrospinal fluid, or cerebrospinal fluid, circulates through the ventricular system, washing the tissues of the nervous system. Liquor protects the brain from mechanical effects, maintains water-salt balance and creates optimal intracranial pressure.

But in some cases, the cerebrospinal fluid begins to accumulate both the subarachnoid space and the ventricular cavity.

Canking of the brain: causes

In fact, the causes of excessive fluid accumulationcan be a lot. For example, edema of the brain in adults can be the result of a serious infectious disease or tumor growth in the nerve tissues. Sometimes such a disease can occur as a result of chronic circulatory failure.

The dropsy of the brain in a newborn is,as a rule, congenital disease. A similar condition develops as a result of a severe infection during pregnancy, which disrupted the formation of the system of the cerebral ventricles. But dropsy may appear in the first months of the baby's life. As a rule, the cause may be severe head trauma, meningitis or intoxication with heavy chemicals. The consequences of the disease can be very different, ranging from visual and speech impairment, to mental retardation and even death.

Dropsy: Symptoms

Identify a similar disease is not always easy,especially in a newborn baby. The main symptom is the irregular shape of the skull. In addition, sick babies can be noticed a swollen, pulsating fontanel. In those places where the skull bones have not yet fully fused, protrusion may appear. Symptoms of hydroencephaly include strabismus, hearing and vision impairment.

In adults, the first symptom of dropsy isheadache. As a rule, patients complain of heaviness in the head, which is especially pronounced in the morning. In addition, hydroencephaly can be accompanied by constant nausea and vomiting. Adult patients also complain of increased nervousness, fatigue, decreased performance, lack of libido, urinary incontinence, impotence.

In any case, in the presence of anxiety symptoms, you need to seek the help of a specialist.

Brainwave: methods of diagnosing

Modern medicine has manymeans that can quickly diagnose such diseases. As a rule, to begin with, computer or magnetic resonance imaging is performed, which allows you to determine the size of the ventricles. As a rule, with dropsy, the cavities of the cerebral ventricles are enlarged.

Lumbar puncture is also performed, which determines the level of CSF pressure and its composition. Sometimes hydrocephalus leads to changes in the fundus.

Canking of the brain: methods of treatment

The main task of the doctor is to normalize outflowscerebrospinal fluid. And from the beginning of the fifties of the last century shunt operations began. The principle is quite simple - with the help of a shunt and special tubes it is possible to withdraw excess fluid into other cavities of the body, for example, into the abdominal cavity or atrium.

To date, more and more popularendoscopic operations, during which natural ways of outflow of cerebrospinal fluid to basal cisterns of the brain are created. Such surgical methods reduce the risk of relapses and injuries and do not involve the introduction of foreign materials into the body, such as shunts, tubes and valves.