Tom’s health concerns began in 2000 when he noticed numbness in his feet. A trip to the neurologist uncovered a condition called peripheral neuropathy, a peripheral nervous system disorder that can cause nerve damage and numbness in the limbs, torso and face. Fortunately, his symptoms were generally mild and confined to occasional foot numbness.

A few years later, in mid 2003, Tom began to experience episodes of dizziness, staggered walking and mental “fuzziness,” as he called it, which he initially attributed to his peripheral neuropathy. He was not as confident driving and performing simple tasks, like balancing his checkbook, took much longer and required a greater amount of concentration. While out for a morning jog in late 2003, Tom became dizzy and fell, and only got home with the help of a neighbor.

Two neurologists said nothing was wrong, but Tom and his wife were convinced something definitely wasn’t right. A third neurologist conducted an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a computed axial tomography (CAT) scan and diagnosed his condition as NPH. Currently, 375,000 Americans are affected with NPH, a condition that results from the gradual blockage of the pathways draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brain.¹ The ventricles in the brain enlarge to handle the increased volume of CSF, compressing the brain from within and damaging or destroying brain tissue. Tom was one of the lucky ones who sought out a physician who diagnosed NPH. Unfortunately, many cases are misdiagnosed and never properly treated.

The cause of most NPH cases is unknown, making it difficult to diagnose and understand. Moreover, because most of the sufferers of NPH are over 60, like Tom, the condition can be confused with the effects of aging or diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. NPH accounts for an estimated five to six percent of all cases of dementia.²

Within three months of his diagnosis, Tom had a shunt - a tube with a valve to divert the excess cerebrospinal fluid to the abdomen - implanted in his brain to maintain normal fluid levels. After the 45-minute procedure, Tom left the hospital in two days and his mental faculties returned to normal almost immediately. Three weeks after the operation, Tom was back to walking three miles several days a week, working, driving and planning his next camping trip.

Treating NPH has come a long way since the first surgery to treat it was performed more than a century ago. Procedural time, cost and the devices used have all dramatically improved. Even in the 1950s, only about four percent of patients had a positive outcome, and most died within five years of the surgery. Today, the success rate can be as high as 75 percent if the cause of NPH is known.

The potential costs of not properly diagnosing and treating NPH are very high. The patient may end up in a nursing home or require constant care at home because dementia, incontinence and gait issues worsen as a result of NPH. A 2005 study found that the average cost of nursing home care in the United States is more than $74,000 per year.⁷

Next winter, Tom will be taking his first ski trip since his NPH diagnosis. “I was headed for a life of inactivity, and all I could hope for was to sit in a chair,” he said. “This surgery set me free.”