Team Hydro

  • Donate!
    • Swims
    • Haircuts for Hydro Challenge
  • Our Mission
    • Team Hydro
    • Hydrocephalus Facts
    • Behind Team Hydro–Kate’s Story
    • Helpful Links
  • Our Swims
    • Alcatraz Swim
    • Boston Harbor Swim
    • Little Falls — Swim for Hydrocephalus
    • Dolphin Dash — Swim for Hydrocephalus
    • Photos
  • Our Research

Hydrocephalus Facts

What is hydrocephalus?

Hydrocephalus is a condition affecting the brain which develops when complications of a medical condition (like a stroke, tumor, head injury, or even an unknown event), cause fluid in the brain, called CSF, to build up in and around the brain to a dangerous level.

When  too much CSF builds up in the head, it typically causes spaces inside the brain (called ventricles) to enlarge, putting pressure on the brain. As the pressure inside the skull continues to increase, terrible headaches, sleepiness, paralysis, dementia, and other difficult symptoms occur. Left untreated, the pressure causes severe headaches, coma, and death.

  • Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition affecting the brain which afflicts over 1 million Americans.
  • Hydrocephalus affects people of every age, from newborn babies and children, to teenagers and the oldest of adults.
  • Hydrocephalus is the most common reason for brain surgery in children.
  • Hydrocephalus has no cure.

What causes hydrocephalus?

Some people are born with hydrocephalus, while others develop hydrocephalus as a result of brain injury suffered from head trauma, stroke, or brain tumor. Some people develop the condition as they grow older for unknown reasons.

  • Kate Finlayson, the person who inspired Team Hydro’s formation, (and also happened to be a swimmer), died from complications of hydrocephalus at age 26, after acquiring the condition as a premature baby.  During her short life, she required over 100 surgeries, suffered several strokes, and endured many shunt infections and hospitalizations in an attempt to fight her condition.
  • Congresswoman Gabby Giffords developed hydrocephalus after suffering head injury due to gunshot wounds.
  • About 1 in every 750 children is born with hydrocephalus.
  • It is estimated that 20% of people with alzheimer’s disease really have a misdiagnosed and treatable form of hydrocephalus. This condition found in older adults can be corrected with a shunt.

How is hydrocephalus treated?

The most common treatment remains the surgical insertion of a device, known as a shunt, into the brain to help drain excess fluids into other parts of the body.

  • Placement of a shunt to treat hydrocephalus requires BRAIN SURGERY.
  • Shunts are wonderful when working properly, but they frequently clog, break, get infected, or simply fail to work–all life threatening emergencies for the shunted person
  • A shocking 50% of shunts fail and need to be revised within two years of placement!

Imagine having to undergo brain surgery every few years or more, just to stay alive!

How did Hydrocephalus get its name?

The  term hydrocephalus is derived from the Greek words “hydro” meaning water, and “cephalus” meaning head. Hydrocephalus occurs when an abnormal amount of fluid exists in the head.  The fluid which causes hydrocephalus is not really water however, but a liquid called cerebral spinal fluid (CSF).  CSF normally exists in the brain and spinal cord of all people.  People need CSF, as it performs many important purposes in the body, but unfortunately, having too much CSF can make a person very sick, or even die.

Usually the body is capable of making sure just the right amount of CSF is present in the head/brain at all times. But sometimes a person has a condition which prevents the proper flow of CSF from occurring in the brain and spinal cord . When CSF is unable to move through the body normally, too much fluid can become trapped in the brain/skull.  As the amount of fluid increases it causes pressure on the brain which causes the person to develop terrible headaches and other symptoms.  Without urgent treatment to correct the problem, a person affected with hydrocephalus will likely die.

What are people with hydrocephalus like?

They are wonderful vibrant human beings trying to live happy productive lives just like you.  But they live with uncertainty every day knowing that at any moment their shunt could fail requiring immediate surgery.

People with hydrocephalus often suffer daily headaches and other symptoms (seizures, memory loss, motor impairment) despite their shunt working–it is just so hard to manage the pressure in the head to comfortable levels–another reason why more research and treatment options are so desperately needed!

Due to the life-long uncertainty and frequent complications of current hydrocephalus treatments, 60% of children who grow up with hydrocephalus will never live independently.

Why is More Research needed?

Despite the fact that over 1 million Americans currently suffer from hydrocephalus, and  are forced to live with its devastating effects, hydrocephalus remains a relatively under-researched condition.

  • Shunt technology has improved little since it was pioneered in the 1950’s and remains an imperfect and unreliable solution.
  • Shunt operations for hydrocephalus cost over $1 billion a year in the US–yet the NIH funds only $1 million of research.
  • About 40,000 shunt-related operations are performed every year in the US for hydrocephalus—that averages out to one every 13 minutes and over 100 every day.
  • Shunts are prone to clogging , breakage, infection–treatment complications which are often deadly.
  • Much is still unknown about how the brain works and why hydrocephalus develops.

It is hoped that through additional research, non-surgical options for treating hydrocephalus can be found, and that new cases can be prevented from developing in the first place!!!



 

Pages

  • Donate
  • Haircuts for Hydro Challenge
  • Team Hydro
  • Our Research
  • Hydrocephalus Facts
  • Behind Team Hydro–Kate’s Story
  • Photos
  • Alcatraz Swim
  • Boston Harbor Swim
  • Little Falls — Swim for Hydrocephalus
  • Dolphin Dash — Swim for Hydrocephalus
  • Helpful Info for Swimmers/Volunteers
  • Home

Archives

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • December 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • February 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014

Recent Posts

  • Team Hydro’s Braves Alcatraz for 18th Time
  • Dolphins Dash Again!
  • Team Hydro’s 17th Alcatraz Swim a Huge Success!
  • The Dorset Dolphins Dash to the Rescue!
  • Promising Results for New Treatment

Recent Posts

  • Team Hydro’s Braves Alcatraz for 18th Time
  • Dolphins Dash Again!
  • Team Hydro’s 17th Alcatraz Swim a Huge Success!
  • The Dorset Dolphins Dash to the Rescue!
  • Promising Results for New Treatment

Recent Comments

  • teamhydro on Team Hydro
  • Glenn Murta on Team Hydro
  • teamhydro on The Hydrocephalus Story of Wells B.

Archives

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • December 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • February 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014

Categories

  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Count Down

CyberChimps

CyberChimps

© Team Hydro