New form of dementia treatment
A Tasmanian study indicates that one form of dementia could be effectively treated by draining excess fluid from the brain.
Dr George Razay, director of the Launceston General Hospital’s (LGH) Dementia Research Centre, said one of the causes of dementia is a condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus, which creates a fluid build-up in the brain. He has treated this by a small operation to insert a fine shunt into the brain to remove the excess fluid.
The 20 patients in Dr Razay’s Shunting for Dementia Study, all from the LGH’s Memory Disorders Clinic, had shown a 71% improvement in memory and cognitive functioning and a 94% improvement in balance and walking after the surgery. None of the 20 patients had been able to walk unaided before the operation.
