Among the various disorders manifesting dementia, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence in the elderly population, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is becoming of great importance. After the publication of the first edition of the Guidelines for Management of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus in 2004 (the English version was published in 2008), clinical awareness of iNPH has risen dramatically, and the number of shunt surgeries has increased rapidly across Japan. Clinical and basic research on iNPH has increased significantly, and more high-level evidence has since been generated. The second edition of the Japanese Guidelines was thus published in July 2011, to provide a series of timely evidence-based recommendations related to iNPH. The revision of the Guidelines has been undertaken by a multidisciplinary expert working group of the Japanese Society of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus in conjunction with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare research project on``Studies on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of normal pressure hydrocephalus.'' This English version of the second edition of the Guidelines was made to share these ideas with the international community and to promote international research on iNPH.

Among the various disorders that manifest with gait disturbance, cognitive impairment, and urinary incontinence in the elderly population, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is becoming of great importance. The first edition of these guidelines for management of iNPH was published in 2004, and the second edition in 2012, to provide a series of timely, evidence-based recommendations related to iNPH. Since the last edition, clinical awareness of iNPH has risen dramatically, and clinical and basic research efforts on iNPH have increased significantly. This third edition of the guidelines was made to share these ideas with the international community and to promote international research on iNPH. The revision of the guidelines was undertaken by a multidisciplinary expert working group of the Japanese Society of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus in conjunction with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare research project. This revision proposes a new classification for NPH. The category of iNPH is clearly distinguished from NPH with congenital/developmental and acquired etiologies. Additionally, the essential role of disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid-space hydrocephalus (DESH) in the imaging diagnosis and decision for further management of iNPH is discussed in this edition. We created an algorithm for diagnosis and decision for shunt management. Diagnosis by biomarkers that distinguish prognosis has been also initiated. Therefore, diagnosis and treatment of iNPH have entered a new phase. We hope that this third edition of the guidelines will help patients, their families, and healthcare professionals involved in treating iNPH.

With the rapid aging of Japanese society, medical care of the elderly has become an important social issue. Among various disorders manifesting dementia, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence in the elderly population, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), especially of idiopathic type (iNPH), is becoming noteworthy. The Guidelines for management of iNPH in Japan are created in compliance with the evidence-based medicine methods and published in 2004. This English version is made to show the diagnosis and treatment of iNPH with reference to the socio-medical background in Japan and to promote the international research on iNPH. They propose three diagnostic levels; possible, probable, and definite. They indicate the diagnostic importance of high convexity tightness and dilated sylvian fissure with mild to moderate ventriculomegaly on coronal magnetic resonance imaging. The cerebrospinal fluid tap test is regarded as an important diagnostic test because of its simplicity to perform and high predictability of the shunt efficacy. The use of programmable valves at shunt surgeries is recommended. Flowcharts for diagnosis, preoperative assessment, and prevention for complications of shunt surgery are made to promote a wide use of them.

A recent alarming rise of neurodegenerative diseases in the developed world is one of the major medical issues affecting older adults. In this review, we provide information about the associations of physical activity (PA) with major age-related neurodegenerative diseases and syndromes, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and mild cognitive impairment. We also provide evidence of PA’s role in reducing the risks of these diseases and helping to improve cognitive outcomes in older adults. Finally, we describe some potential mechanisms by which this protective effect occurs, providing guidelines for future research.

Objective:To clarify the characteristics of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH).Methods:Neuropsychiatric symptoms of 64 iNPH patients with mild triad symptoms from three kinds of hospitals were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and compared with 126 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Results:The most frequently observed neuropsychiatric symptom in the iNPH patients was apathy followed by anxiety and aggression. No symptom was more prevalent or more severe in iNPH than in AD. The severity of cognitive impairment was correlated with both aberrant motor activity and apathy.Conclusions:Neuropsychiatric symptoms were mild in patients with iNPH and apathy was the most prevalent symptom. The correlation between neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment in iNPH appears to arise from a common pathology in the frontal lobe.