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Hydrocephalus: Infants
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There are a number of causes for hydrocephalus. These include blockage of spinal fluid outflow (obstructive or non-communicating hydrocephalus), impairment of spinal fluid absorption (communicating hydrocephalus) and rarely, excessive spinal fluid production (associated with a particular tumor called a choroid plexus papilloma). The most common reasons for developing obstructive hydrocephalus are aqueductal stenosis (congenital obstruction of part of the spinal fluid pathway within the brain) and various tumors. Communicating hydrocephalus is commonly seen after brain hemorrhage or infection (meningitis). Other congenital causes of hydrocephalus include Chiari malformation (usually type II in infants) and the Dandy-Walker syndrome.
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Irritability is the most common sign of hydrocephalus in infants. If this is not treated, it may lead to lethargy. Bulging of the fontanelles, or the soft spots between the skull bones, may ... be an early sign. When hydrocephalus occurs in infants, fusion of the skull bones is prevented. This leads to abnormal expansion of the skull.
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Premature infants have an increased risk of intraventricular hemorrhage in which severe bleeding within the ventricles of the brain can lead to hydrocephalus. Other problems that can occur during pregnancy may increase an infant's risk of developing hydrocephalus, including intrauterine infection or a disorder involving incomplete closure of an infant's spinal column (myelomeningocele).
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