Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Abstract

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.

White Matter Alteration in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study

“…30 These features resemble those seen in frontal disorders 31,32 and are sometimes characterized as frontal and subcortical deficits. 33 To date, frontal lobe dysfunction 27,30,34 or prefrontal lobe discon-nection or both 35 have been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of dementia in patients with iNPH.…”

Resolution of Othello-like syndrome following ventricular shunting in a post traumatic normal pressure hydrocephalus subject

“…Oliveira et al showed that up to 70% of patients with NPH may present neuropsychiatric symptoms, which may be from metabolic impairments in frontal lobe, basal ganglia and thalamus, all of which can be involved in pathophysiology of OS [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] .…”

“…Othello syndrome (OS) is a content-specific jealousy delusion characterized by fixed false belief that one's partner has been or is being unfaithful [5][6][7][8][9][10] . We report an unusual case of NPH associated with Othello-like syndrome [5][6][7][8][9][10] , and complete improvement of psychiatric symptoms after proper neurosurgical treatment.…”

“…We report an unusual case of NPH associated with Othello-like syndrome [5][6][7][8][9][10] , and complete improvement of psychiatric symptoms after proper neurosurgical treatment.…”

Obsessive compulsive symptoms presented during the course of chronic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a case report

“…In a study of 64 idiopathic NPH patients, at least one neuropsychiatric finding was detected in 73.4% of the cases (4). The three most common findings in that study were apathy (70.3%), anxiety (25.0%), and agitation (17.2%).…”