Lumboperitoneal Shunt Surgery Research Articles

Spinal magnetic resonance imaging artifacts in lumboperitoneal shunt surgery using adjustable valve implantation on the paravertebral spinal muscles.

Adjustable shunt valves that have been developed for managing hydrocephalus rely on intrinsically magnetic components ; thus, artifacts with these valves on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are inevitable. No studies on valve-induced artifacts in lumboperitoneal shunt (LPS) surgery have been published. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate valve-induced artifacts in LPS. We retrospectively reviewed all MRIs obtained between January 2023 and June 2023 in patients with an implanted Codman CERTAS Plus adjustable shunt valve (Integra Life Sciences, Princeton, New Jersey, USA). The valve was placed <1 cm subcutaneously on the paravertebral spinal muscle of the back, with its long axis perpendicular to the body axis. The scans were performed using a Toshiba Medical Systems 1.5 Tesla scanner. The in-plane artifact sizes were assessed as the maximum distance of the artifact from the expected region of the back. All spinal structures or spinal cords can be recognized, even with valve-induced artifacts. The median maximum valve-induced artifact distance on T1-weighted axial imaging was 25.63 mm (mean, 25.98 mm ; range, 22.24-30.94 mm). The median maximum valve-induced artifact distance on T2-weighted axial imaging was 25.56 mm (mean, 26.27 mm ; range, 21.83-29.53 mm). LPS surgery with adjustable valve implantation on paravertebral muscles did not cause valve-induced artifacts in the spine and spinal cord. We considered that LPS could simplify the postoperative care of these patients. J. Med. Invest. 71 : 154-157, February, 2024.

Clinical Outcome and Safety of Lumboperitoneal Shunt in the Treatment of Non-Obstructive Hydrocephalus.

This study aimed to evaluate the functional outcomes of lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt for the treatment of non-obstructive hydrocephalus. We retrospectively studied the clinical surgical results of 172 adult patients with hydrocephalus who underwent LP shunt surgery between June 2014 and June 2019. Data regarding the following were collected: pre- and postoperative symptom status, third ventricle width changes, Evans index, and postoperative complications. Additionally, the baseline and follow-up Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores were investigated. All patients were followed up for ≥12 months using clinical interview and braining imaging using computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Majority of patients presented with normal pressure hydrocephalus as the etiology of their disease (48.8%), followed by cardiovascular accident (28.5%), trauma (19.7%), and brain tumor (3%). The mean GCS, GOS, and mRS improved postoperatively. The average period from symptomatic onset to surgery was 402 days. The average width of the third ventricle on CT scan or MRI was 11.43 mm preoperatively and 10.8 mm postoperatively (P<0.001). The Evans index improved from 0.258 to 0.222 after operation. The symptomatic improvement score was 7.0, with a complication rate of 7%. Significant improvement was observed in the functional score and brain image after LP shunt placement. Moreover, the satisfaction with symptomatic improvement after surgery remains high. LP shunt operation is a viable alternative in the treatment of non-obstructive hydrocephalus due to the low complication rate, fast recovery, and high satisfaction.

Combined Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy and Lumboperitoneal Shunt Surgery in an Elderly Patient With Complex Hydrocephalus: Mixture of Late-onset Obstructive and Communicating Hydrocephaluses

Combined Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy and Lumboperitoneal Shunt Surgery in an Elderly Patient With Complex Hydrocephalus: Mixture of Late-onset Obstructive and Communicating Hydrocephaluses

Lumboperitoneal shunt surgery via continuous two-stage procedure: Technique notes and outcomes.

Lumboperitoneal shunt (LPS) is an effective procedure for managing communicating hydrocephalus. LPS is performed as a one-stage procedure with the patient placed in the lateral position or as a two-stage procedure in which the patient's position is changed. Both methods can be bothersome to neurosurgeons. We designed a continuous two-stage LPS procedure in which the operative sites did not need to be sterilized again, and the surgical drapes did not have to be changed after changing the patient's position. In this study, we analyzed this procedure in terms of the technical features and outcomes. All patients from our institute who underwent LPS using the continuous two-stage procedure from October 2019 to August 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. The patient's demographic information, clinical features, operative data, and outcomes were analyzed. A total of 46 consecutive patients who underwent LPS using the continuous two-stage procedure were enrolled. The mean operative duration was 70.6 ± 12.7 min. The 180-day revision rate for these patients was 2.2% (1/46). Moreover, 76.1% of the patients (35/46) experienced clinical improvement after LPS during the 180-day follow-up, and 70.0% of the patients (32/46) experienced an improvement in neuroimaging. We described a continuous two-stage LPS procedure. This method simplified the two-stage LPS procedure and maintained a low malfunction rate and shunt infection rate in our series.

Lumboperitoneal Shunt Preference in Treatment of Patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Objective: To demonstrate the advantages of Lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt surgery applied to patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).Methods: Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data of 20 patients who underwent LP shunt surgery for NPH between 01/01/2012 and 07/04/2022 at the Neurosurgery Clinic of Ordu University Training and Research Hospital were analyzed. The demographic, clinical and laboratory data of the patients as well as their medical records were reviewed. Patients who underwent LP shunt with the diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus in our clinic were screened retrospectively, and the success rates and complications after the surgical intervention applied to these patients were recorded.Results: Statistically significant improvements were recorded in Modified Ranking Scale Scores and Mini-Mental State Examination Scores at the end of the first year. The incidence of Gait Disturbance did not differ significantly by gender, The incidence of dementia did not differ significantly by gender, The incidence of urinary incontinence showed a significant change according to gender While all of the women diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus had urinary incontinence in the preoperative period, this rate was seen in only 66.7% of the men. Gait disturbance improved in 80%, urinary incontinence in 60%, and cognitive functions in 60% of patients. No neurogenic complication developed in our operated patients. Wound infection occurred at the abdominal incision site in only two patients (10%). Subcutaneous hematoma occurred in the abdominal region in one patient (5%). Conclusion: LP shunt surgery has a lower complication rate than VP shunt surgery and is a more easily applicable surgical technique. LPS surgery is a safe and minimally invasive treatment method. It has lower complication rates compared to VPS . LPS surgery is an effective surgical technique. It can be used as an alternative to the VPS procedure in the treatment of NPH patients

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Tap Test by Combining the Use of Functional Gait Assessment and Global Rating of Change.

BackgroundAlthough the tap test for patients with suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is still often performed as part of the preoperative evaluation, it is true that some studies have reported the limitations of the tap test, claiming that it does not provide the additional information for appropriate patient selection for surgery. We aimed to determine whether a better method of pre- and post-tap test assessment could lead to appropriate patient selection for shunting.MethodsWe performed the tap test as part of the preoperative evaluation in all 40 patients who underwent lumboperitoneal shunt surgery for iNPH from April 2021 to September 2021. We retrospectively analyzed the patient data. We examined whether a comprehensive evaluation of the effect of the tap test using the Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) and Global Rating of Change (GRC) scales would identify a wider range of patients who would benefit from shunt surgery than the 3-m Timed Up and Go test (TUG) alone.ResultsAssuming a prevalence of 1% for iNPH, the TUG had a sensitivity of 0.23, specificity of 0.71, positive likelihood ratio of 0.79, and negative likelihood ratio of 1.09. When improvement in either the FGA or the GRC was used as a criterion for the validity of the tap test, the sensitivity was 0.88, specificity was 0.17, positive likelihood ratio was 1.06, and negative likelihood ratio was 0.71.ConclusionImprovement in either the FGA or the GRC is a more sensitive criterion for the effectiveness of the tap test for the gait aspect than the TUG. Since the negative likelihood ratio is lower than that for the TUG alone, it is more appropriate to exclude patients with neither FGA nor GRC improvement from surgical indications than to exclude surgical indications based on a negative TUG.

Prophylactic lumboperitoneal shunt in cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with papilledema

Background: Although the mainstay of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis treatment is medical, rarely surgical intervention is warranted. We aimed to determine the role of prophylactic lumbo-peritoneal (LP) shunt in cases of CVST with papilledema.Methods: This is a retrospective review of 70 cases of CVST managed between November 2019 to April 2020. Indications for surgical management included poor response to medical management and severe vision impairment.Results: The mean age of the patients included in the study was 39.44±4.76 years. The most common presenting complaint was headache (83%) and nausea/vomiting (69%). On examination, the common findings were papilledema (57%), blurred vision (31%), double vision (21%) and hemiparesis (11%). Two cases had sudden loss of vision, who underwent emergency LP shunt surgery. Of the 40 cases with papilledema, 8 had severe papilledema. Based on MRI venography, transverse sinus was involved in half of all patients, superior sagittal sinus was involved in 29% and 21% had both the sinuses involved, while 7% had cortical vein thrombosis. Anticoagulants was the first line of therapy for the patients. Papilledema was present in 40 cases, of which 10 showed complete resolution of symptoms, 15 cases had reduced severity of symptoms and symptoms persisted in rest of the 15 cases. The 10 cases who had complete resolution of symptoms included two patients who underwent LP shunt. There were no deaths.Conclusions: We recommend that a LP shunt insertion in a patient with severe papilledema with superior sagittal sinus thrombosis can prevent disease progress, preserve vision and facilitate re-canalisation.

Improvement in the long-term care burden after surgical treatment of patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a supplementary study

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a surgically treatable syndrome commonly observed in older adults. However, it is unclear whether clinical improvements after surgery can effectively reduce the long-term care burden (LTCB). In this study, we determined whether shunt surgery was effective in decreasing LTCB. We also investigated the degree of variability in patients and hospitals, using data from the iNPH multicenter study. This study involved 69 participants who underwent lumboperitoneal shunt surgery with follow-up for 12 months. A generalized linear mixed model was applied to analyze the fixed and random effects simultaneously. Regarding LTCB, the disability grades improved significantly. Although the dementia grades also improved, it was not statistically significant. The differences in the LTCB grades in most patients were within the range of the 95% confidence intervals, while in the case of hospitals, some were often out of the range. Further studies are needed to improve dementia in patients with iNPH. The incorporation of random variables, such as hospitals, is important for the analysis of data from multicenter studies.

Preoperative Predictive Factors of Short-Term Outcome in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Surgical treatment of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) by ventriculoperitoneal (VP) or lumboperitoneal (LP) shunting can achieve long-term recovery of activities of daily living; however, in a subset of patients, maintenance of independence lasted for <6 months. This study examined positive preoperative predictive factors of short-term outcome for shunted iNPH patients. Over a 9-year period, consecutive patients from multiple centers diagnosed with probable iNPH underwent either VP or LP shunt surgery. Preoperative variables of age, symptom duration, iNPH severity, tap test response, and magnetic resonance imaging findings of disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus (DESH) or incomplete DESH were retrospectively evaluated in relation to 1-year postoperative outcome. Outcome for 154 shunt patients (12 VP, 142 LP) as measured by postoperative disability modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and iNPH-gait disturbance (GD) was the same regardless of age. Symptom duration was inversely correlated with both iNPH severity (P < 0.0001) and postoperative improvement at 1 year (P= 0.0015). Severity also correlated inversely with postoperative improvement at 1 year (P < 0.0001). Age was not significantly correlated with the degree of postoperative improvement (mRS: P= 0.487; iNPH grading scale [GD]: P= 0.725). Outcome at 1 year (mRS, gait domain, and activities of daily living significantly improved in patients with a good response to the tap test (P < 0.0001) Preoperative DESH correlated with improvement in mRS and GD (P < 0.0001). Mild preoperative iNPH severity, shorter preoperative symptom duration, good tap test response, and complete DESH were associated with good short-term postoperative outcome at 1 year. These positive factors may be useful for prediction of short-term surgical outcome in iNPH patients.

The Outcomes Of Serial Cerebrospinal Fluid Removal In Elderly Patients With Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

PurposeElderly patients with iNPH (idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus) might be potentially high-risk surgical patients. Our purpose was to investigate the outcome of serial removal of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the patients with iNPH who refused to have the ventriculoperitoneal or lumboperitoneal shunt surgery or had contraindications to them.Patients and methodsThere were 42 patients, with a median age of 78 years. Recurrent CSF removal was performed when the patients had deteriorated gait which was defined as >10% pre-removal change on the average of two walking trials during timed up and go (TUG). All the patients underwent mini-mental status examination (MMSE), frontal assessment battery (FAB), Stroop test, Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), TUG and nine-hole peg test (NHPT) with the dominant hand, before and after CSF removal.ResultsThirty-five patients had two CSF removal procedures with a mean interim period of 7.4 months ranging from 1.5 to 35 months. Thirteen patients had three CSF removal procedures. The mean TUG scores were decreased after the first, second and third procedures (p<0.001; p<0.001; p=0.007; respectively). The POMA scores including both gait and balance components improved after the first and second procedures (p<0.05; for each). After the third procedure, the increase in POMA-balance score was statistically significant (p<0.05). After the first procedure, the FAB scores and NHPT scores were significantly improved (p<0.02). The median follow-up duration of the patients was 34.5 months.ConclusionThe deterioration of gait disturbance may be improved, and cognitive decline may be stabilized, at least postponed, by applying recurrent CSF removal in those unshunted patients with iNPH.

Ventricular volumetry and free-water corrected diffusion tensor imaging of the anterior thalamic radiation in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

Background and purposeThe pathophysiology of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) has not been completely clarified. We investigated the brain structure in iNPH using automatic ventricular volumetry, single-tensor diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and bi-tensor free-water (FW) imaging analyses while focusing on cognitive impairments before and after lumboperitoneal shunt surgery. Materials and methodsThis retrospective study included 12 iNPH patients with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) on a 3T-MRI scanner who underwent neuropsychological assessments before and after shunting and 8 healthy controls. Ventricular volumetry was conducted on structural MRI datasets using FreeSurfer. Ventricular volume was compared pre- and postoperatively. Correlation analyses were performed between ventricular volume or volume change and neuropsychological scores or score change. Tract-based spatial statistics were performed using dMRI datasets for group analyses between iNPH and controls and between pre- and post-surgery iNPH patients and for correlation analyses using neuropsychological scores. Tract-specific analyses were performed in the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), followed by comparison and correlation analyses. ResultsThe third ventricular volume was significantly decreased after shunting; its volume reduction negatively correlated with a neuropsychological improvement. Compared with controls, iNPH patients had lower fractional anisotropy and higher axial, radial, and mean diffusivities, and FW in the periventricular white matter including ATR, resulting in no difference in FW-corrected indices. Single-tensor DTI indices partially correlated with neuropsychological improvements, while FW-corrected indices had no correlations. ConclusionThird ventricle enlargement is possibly linked to cognitive impairment and FW imaging possibly provides better white matter characterization in iNPH.

Lumboperitoneal and Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Surgery for Posthemorrhagic Communicating Hydrocephalus: A Comparison

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and complications of lumboperitoneal (LP) and ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgeries in patients with posthemorrhagic communicating hydrocephalus. Retrospective analysis of the records of patients who were admitted to the Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University between February 2012 and January 2018 was performed. The efficacy of the LP and VP shunt surgeries and their associated complications were compared. The evaluation of the efficacy of these surgeries involved both clinical and radiologic aspects. The evaluated complications included hemorrhage, infection, excessive drainage, seizure disorder, shunt obstruction, and migration. Revision and mortality were regarded as the consequence of complications and were collected. One-hundred and fifty-eight (115 males and 43 females) patients were treated with VP or LP shunt (102 vs. 56, respectively) for posthemorrhagic communicating hydrocephalus. The percentage of patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score between 3.00 and 12.00 was 79.11%. There was no significant difference in the observed clinical (P= 0.097) or radiologic (P= 0.360) improvements between the LP and VP shunt groups. The total rate of complications (P= 0.009) and hemorrhage (P= 0.03) were lower in the LP shunt group than in the VP shunt group. In the treatment of moderate and severe coma patients with posthemorrhagic communicating hydrocephalus, LP shunt surgery is equally as effective as the VP shunt surgery and is associated with fewer complications.

Apathy and right caudate perfusion in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: A case-control study.

Apathy is prevalent in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), a treatable disorder resulting from ventricular enlargement. We assessed the relationship between apathy and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with iNPH. Before lumbo-peritoneal shunt surgery (LPS), 56 iNPH patients were evaluated on apathy and dysphoria subscales of the Neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and were divided into two groups according to NPI apathy score: 15 without apathy (iNPH-APA) and 41 with apathy (iNPH+APA). Among iNPH+APA, 29 patients were evaluated for apathy and dysphoria 3months after LPS, and were divided into two groups on the basis of the change in NPI apathy score: 13 with improvement (iNPH+ImpAPA) and 16 without improvement in apathy (iNPH-ImpAPA). N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography using the autoradiography method was performed before and after LPS, and rCBF was calculated in 22 regions of interest in the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system. In iNPH+APA, rCBF in the right caudate nuclei before LPS was significantly lower than that in iNPH-APA (P=0.004; two-sample t test). Between iNPH-ImpAPA and iNPH+ImpAPA, a significant group-by-shunt interaction was observed for rCBF in only the right caudate nuclei (F1, 28 =11.75, P=0.002; two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance), with increased rCBF in iNPH+ImpAPA but not in iNPH-ImpAPA. The significant group-by-shunt interaction persisted if change in NPI dysphoria scores was used as a covariate (F1, 27 =8.33, P=0.008). Our findings suggest that right caudate dysfunction might cause apathy in iNPH patients.

Association between high biomarker probability of Alzheimer's disease and improvement of clinical outcomes after shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

We examined the effect of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) on improvement of clinical symptoms after shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). Forty-four iNPH patients were classified into 18 patients with (iNPH/AD+) and 26 patients without (iNPH/AD−) combination with low amyloid β42 and high total tau in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We compared improvements after lumbo-peritoneal shunt surgery (LPS) between the two groups in Timed Up & Go Test, 10-m reciprocating walking test, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, attention test, delayed recall test, Mini-Mental State Examination, iNPH grading scale, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Zarit Burden Interview, and other evaluations. Three months after LPS, gait, urination, overall cognition, psychomotor speed, attention, and neuropsychiatric symptoms significantly improved in both groups, but the improvement in delayed recall and reduction of caregiver burden were significantly greater in iNPH/AD− than iNPH/AD+. In addition, improvement in delayed recall score after LPS was significantly and negatively correlated with the probability of AD as judged by amyloid β42 and total tau levels in CSF. Three months after LPS, almost all of the triad symptoms decreased in iNPH patients with and without AD pathology but memory improved only in iNPH patients without AD pathology.

Disability risk or unimproved symptoms following shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus: post hoc analysis of SINPHONI-2.

OBJECTIVE The study aim was to assess the influence of presurgical clinical symptom severity and disease duration on outcomes of shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). The authors also evaluated the cerebrospinal fluid tap test as a predictor of improvements following shunt surgery. METHODS Eighty-three patients (45 men and 38 women, mean age 76.4 years) underwent lumboperitoneal shunt surgery, and outcomes were evaluated until 12 months following surgery. Risks for poor quality of life (Score 3 or 4 on the modified Rankin Scale [mRS]) and severe gait disturbance were evaluated at 3 and 12 months following shunt surgery, and the tap test was also conducted. Age-adjusted and multivariate relative risks were calculated using Cox proportional-hazards regression. RESULTS Of 83 patients with iNPH, 45 (54%) improved by 1 point on the mRS and 6 patients (7%) improved by ≥ 2 points at 3 months following surgery. At 12 months after surgery, 39 patients (47%) improved by 1 point on the mRS and 13 patients (16%) improved by ≥ 2 points. On the gait domain of the iNPH grading scale (iNPHGS), 36 patients (43%) improved by 1 point and 13 patients (16%) improved by ≥ 2 points at 3 months following surgery. Additionally, 32 patients (38%) improved by 1 point and 14 patients (17%) by ≥ 2 points at 12 months following surgery. In contrast, 3 patients (4%) and 2 patients (2%) had worse symptoms according to the mRS or the gait domain of the iNPHGS, respectively, at 3 months following surgery, and 5 patients (6%) and 3 patients (4%) had worse mRS scores and gait domain scores, respectively, at 12 months after surgery. Patients with severe preoperative mRS scores had a 4.7 times higher multivariate relative risk (RR) for severe mRS scores at 12 months following surgery. Moreover, patients with severe gait disturbance prior to shunt surgery had a 46.5 times greater multivariate RR for severe gait disturbance at the 12-month follow-up. Patients without improved gait following the tap test had multivariate RRs for unimproved gait disturbance of 7.54 and 11.2 at 3 and 12 months following surgery, respectively. Disease duration from onset to shunt surgery was not significantly associated with postoperative symptom severity or unimproved symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Patients with iNPH should receive treatment before their symptoms become severe in order to achieve an improved quality of life. However, the progression of symptoms varies between patients so specific timeframes are not meaningful. The authors also found that tap test scores accurately predicted shunt efficacy. Therefore, indications for shunt surgery should be carefully assessed in each patient with iNPH, considering the relative risks and benefits for that person, including healthy life expectancy.

Current State of Diagnosis and Treatment of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a common disease with a prevalence of 1 to 3% in the elderly. The Japanese society of normal pressure hydrocephalus has developed clinical guidelines for the management of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and conducted two multicenter prospective studies for iNPH, which are called SINPHONI and SINPHONI-2. These guidelines define disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus (DESH) as iNPH with the specific MRI features of tight high-convexity, the presense of medial subarachnoid spaces and ventriculomegaly. Patients with DESH are known to be highly responsive to shunt surgery. Specifically, 60 to 70% of patients with DESH see improvements in their daily living activities following shunt surgery. While ventriculo-peritoneal shunt surgery (VPS) is most commonly used in western countries, lumbo-peritoneal shunt surgery (LPS) is increasingly used in Japan, as patients with iNPH and their caregivers are more willing to accept lumbar surgery than cranial surgery. LPS does not produce puncture-induced damage to the brain and has been recently confirmed to be effective for the treatment of iNPH. It is important for physicians to consider iNPH while examining patients with dementia, as iNPH is common, treatable, and easy to diagnose using MRI.

Effect of lumbo-peritoneal shunt surgery on neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

IntroductionPatients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) have neuropsychiatric symptoms that could affect patients' quality of life and caregiver burden. In this study, we assessed the effect of lumbo-peritoneal (L-P) shunt surgery on neuropsychiatric symptoms and the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden after L-P shunt surgery. MethodsWe recruited 22 iNPH patients who had L-P shunt surgery and who were followed up for 3months after surgery. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), respectively, before and 3months after surgery. We evaluated the changes of NPI and ZBI and the association between the changes in these 2 scores and the triad symptoms. ResultsNPI total, apathy, and depression scores significantly decreased after surgery. The improvement in NPI total, apathy, disinhibition, and irritability scores after surgery were significantly and positively associated with improvement in ZBI score after surgery. Improvement in NPI apathy score was significantly associated with improvement in Frontal Assessment Battery score after surgery. ConclusionL-P shunt surgery was effective in reducing not only the triad symptoms but also the neuropsychiatric symptoms, and the improved neuropsychiatric symptoms might decrease caregiver burden for iNPH patients.

Efficacy of Lumboperitoneal Shunting in Patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

To evaluate the effectiveness of lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt procedures in the treatment of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). A medical record review was conducted to obtain demographic, clinical, laboratory data, as well as pre-, intra, -postoperative details of 65 patients who underwent LP shunt surgery for NPH between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2014 in the Neurosurgery Clinics of Ankara Training and Research Hospital and Ankara Numune Hospital. At the 3rd month after LP shunt surgery, headache was resolved in almost all patients. At the end of first year, while statistically significant improvements were noted in the Modified Rankin Scale Scores and Mini-Mental State Examination Scores, gait disturbance, urinary incontinence and cognitive functions were improved by 86%, 72% and 65% of the patients, respectively. LP shunt surgery is associated with a lower rate of complication in comparison to ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery and is an effective procedure in the treatment of NPH.

Prospective estimation of mean axon diameter and extra-axonal space of the posterior limb of the internal capsule in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus before and after a lumboperitoneal shunt by using q-space diffusion MRI.

ObjectivesTo prospectively estimate the mean axon diameter (MAD) and extracellular space of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) before and after a lumboperitoneal (LP) shunting operation using q-space diffusion MRI analysis.MethodsWe studied 12 consecutive patients with iNPH and 12 controls at our institution. After conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), q-space image (QSI) data were acquired with a 3-T MRI scanner. The MAD and extra-axonal space of the PLIC before and after LP shunting were calculated using two-component q-space imaging analyses; the before and after values were compared.ResultsAfter LP shunt surgery, the extracellular space of the PLIC was significantly higher than that of the same patients before the operation (one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Scheffé’s post-hoc test, P = 0.024). No significant differences were observed in the PLIC axon diameters among normal controls or in patients before and after surgery.ConclusionIncreases in the root mean square displacement in the extra-axonal space of the PLIC in patients with iNPH after an LP shunt procedure are associated with the microstructural changes of white matter and subsequent abatement of patient symptoms.Key Points• Q-space diffusion MRI provides information on microstructural changes in the corticospinal tract• Lumboperitoneal (LP) shunting operation is useful for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus• Q-space measurement may be a biomarker for the effect of the LP shunt procedure

Lumboperitoneal shunt surgery for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (SINPHONI-2): an open-label randomised trial

Lumboperitoneal shunt surgery has the potential to alleviate symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus but the benefits of such surgery have not been tested in a randomised trial. The aim of this trial was to determine the safety and efficacy of the lumboperitoneal shunt surgery for this disorder. For the open-label randomised SINPHONI-2 trial, eligible participants (60-85 years of age) with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, with ventriculomegaly, and tightness of the high-convexity and medial subarachnoid spaces on MRI, were recruited from 20 neurological and neurosurgical centres in Japan. Enrolled participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio according to a random code generated by the trial statistician, with a permuted block design (using a block size of 4 or 6) within each centre, to receive lumboperitoneal shunt surgery within 1 month after randomisation, or to surgery postponed for 3 months. Patients and assessors were not masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was favourable outcome, defined as an improvement of one point or more on the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 3 months after randomisation, analysed by intention to treat, and the main secondary endpoint was the same outcome 12 months after surgery, analysed per protocol. This trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR), number UMIN000002730. Between March 1, 2010, and Oct 19, 2011, 93 patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus were enrolled and randomly assigned to the immediate treatment group (n=49) or the postponed treatment group (n=44). More patients in the immediate treatment group than in the postponed treatment group had an improvement of one point or more on the mRS at 3 months: 32 (65%) of 49 in the immediate group vs 2 (5%) of 44 in the postponed group (difference 61% [95% CI 42-68]; p<0·0001). The number of patients who had an improvement of one point or more on the mRS at 12 months after surgery was similar between the two groups: 30 (67%) of 45 patients in the immediate group vs 22 (58%) of 38 in the postponed group (difference 9% [95% CI -14 to 31]; p=0·496). The proportions of patients with serious adverse events did not differ significantly between the groups during the 3 months post-randomisation (7 [15%] of 46 in the immediate group vs 1 [2%] of 42 in the postponed group; p=0·060). During the 12 months after surgery, 19 (22%) of 87 patients had serious adverse events, the most common of which was cerebral infarction (six patients [7%]). Our results suggest that lumboperitoneal shunt surgery might be beneficial for patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and, if these findings are confirmed in larger studies, could be a first-line treatment option for this disease. Johnson & Johnson and Nihon Medi-Physics.