Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

[syringa12]

My father was diagnosed with NPH in 2004 and had a programmable shunt implanted. He improved, but was still quite "loopy" and showed signs of dementia. (He is taking Aricept for dementia.) This year (2008) the shunt was adjusted for the 3rd time since being implanted, and the neurosurgeon told us it was now open as much as possible.

In August 2008, Dad broke his hip and ended up in the hospital, also having a colostomy due to his colon not restarting after the hip surgery. He was in rehab after leaving the hospital, and has shown a steady improvement in his mental status. He is now home from rehab (November 2008), and it is truly amazing to see how much he has improved. (He is a PhD in Physical Chemistry from from Yale University, and worked for Bell Labs as a research scientist for 40 years, to give you some idea of his past capabilities.) He is now interested in things he hasn't cared about for years, and can carry on quite normal conversations, although is still confused about some things, especially his love life!

In trying to explain his dramatic improvement, the only thing I could really think of which has been consistently different since his accident is the fact that in both the hospital and rehab center he has been in a hospital-type bed with his head elevated. I had purchased a hospital-type bed for home before he came home from rehab, thinking it would be more comfortable for watching TV in bed as he had become used to the flexibility in positioning. However, I now believe that perhaps sleeping with his head elevated has been responsible for allowing the shunt to function more effectively, by allowing gravity to help drain the excess fluid. Perhaps this might help people who do not want to have surgery, or just help an implanted shunt work better. In his case it has been nothing short of miraculous! (By the way, I found the bed on eBay for $140 plus $200 for a new mattress, so you do't have to spend alot of money to try this. Craigslist and newspaper classified ads are another possibility.)