Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a potentially reversible neurodegenerative disease commonly characterized by a triad of dementia, gait, and urinary disturbance. Advancements in diagnosis and treatment have aided in properly identifying and improving symptoms in patients. However, a large proportion of iNPH patients remain either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Using PubMed search engine of keywords “normal pressure hydrocephalus,” “diagnosis,” “shunt treatment,” “biomarkers,” “gait disturbances,” “cognitive function,” “neuropsychology,” “imaging,” and “pathogenesis,” articles were obtained for this review. The majority of the articles were retrieved from the past 10 years. The purpose of this review article is to aid general practitioners in further understanding current findings on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of iNPH.

Structural analysis of π-extended 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TCNQ)-based molecules reveal molecular and packing features which may help better understand the weak electron accepting features for these molecules compared with TCNQ, in solution (cyclic voltammetry measurements), while showing varying trends in thin solid films (photoinduced electron transfer measurements). On the basis of the current findings, we propose that unsymmetrical compounds in this series hold promise as good candidates for use in solar cell applications as their molecular features allow for better solid-state packing, a property likely conducive for better charge transport. Electron acceptor/donor pairs of compatible molecular shapes rather than the usually sought planar shapes may offer a route worth pursuing.

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