What causes hydrocephalus in children?

Hydrocephalus is a problem that can easily occur in newborns, so preventive measures must be taken in advance. This requires women to do relevant health care during the confinement period, such as not taking medication indiscriminately during pregnancy, adjusting personal emotions, etc. Especially young people today must learn the relevant knowledge of eugenics, otherwise, there will be many reasons that cause hydrocephalus in children.

What causes hydrocephalus in children?

Neonatal hydrocephalus, also known as infantile hydrocephalus, commonly known as cerebral edema, is a general term for the disorder of cerebrospinal fluid production or circulation absorption, resulting in excessive cerebrospinal fluid volume and increased pressure, which expands the space occupied by normal cerebrospinal fluid, thereby leading to increased intracranial pressure and ventricular enlargement.

Most of them are caused by blockage of certain parts of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation pathway, while excessive production is less common. It mostly occurs in infants under two years old and can be divided into two categories: communicating hydrocephalus and non-communicating hydrocephalus. Communicating hydrocephalus refers to the obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid absorption on the brain surface; non-communicating hydrocephalus refers to the obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid circulation in the ventricular system.

There are many causes of hydrocephalus in infants, which are generally caused by the following reasons. About 1/4 of hydrocephalus has unknown causes:

1. Congenital malformations

① Stenosis of the cerebral aqueduct, diaphragm formation or atresia, interventricular foramen atresia (atresia of the median foramen or lateral space of the fourth ventricle), cerebrovascular malformation, spina bifida, cerebellar tonsillar herniation, etc.

② Certain hereditary metabolic diseases.

2. Fetal intrauterine infection

If these diseases are not controlled in time, the proliferating fibrous tissue will block the circulation channels of cerebrospinal fluid; fetal intracranial inflammation can also cause adhesion and occlusion of the cerebral cisterns, subarachnoid space and arachnoid granulations.

① Various viruses and protozoa: Although the symptoms caused by intrauterine infection of viruses (rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, etc.) and Toxoplasma gondii in environmental factors are relatively mild for pregnant women themselves, they have a greater impact on the development of the embryo. Toxoplasma infection can cause hydrocephalus and aqueduct stenosis in the fetus.

② Treponema pallidum infectious meningitis: Treponema pallidum can easily infect the fetus through the placenta, causing congenital syphilis. This disease is one of the clinical symptoms of congenital syphilis after birth.

3. Acquired causes

① Intracranial hemorrhage after birth injury.

②Neonatal asphyxia: hypoxic encephalopathy causes brain lesions.

③Severe vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy.

④ Purulent, tuberculous or other types of meningitis in neonates or infants.

4. Tumor

It can block any part of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation, and is more common near the fourth ventricle or in choroid plexus papilloma.

From the above, we can preliminarily infer that congenital hydrocephalus is a multifactorial genetic disease caused by the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.