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Hydrocephalus occurs most often in infants and children and can result from congenital defects, injury, infection or tumors. Normally, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is produced in cavities, called ventricles, inside the brain, circulates among the ventricles and over the surface of the brain and spinal cord, and then gets re-absorbed into the blood stream. In congenital hydrocephalus that circulation pattern may become blocked or the balance between production and absorption is lopsided. In acquired hydrocephalus, trauma or infection can cause swelling or bleeding into the brain cavity.
In either case, pressure inside the skull (intracranial pressure or ICP) rises, compressing sensitive tissues and restricting blood flow and leading to headaches, irritability, vomiting, and loss of motor function and seizures. In young children, the joints (called sutures) between skull plates have not yet fused, so the increased pressure can cause a rapid increase in head size or bulge at the "soft spot" (fontanelle). Approximately one in 500 infants is born with hydrocephalus or develops it shortly after birth.
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