Treatable, Little Known Condition Often Confused With Alzheimer’s (NAPSA)—Over a period of nine years, Bob Fowler, 75, a former chairman of a Dallas oil company, went from being a man who could run a multimilliondollar company to someone who couldn’t think clearly or walk without falling. He saw several medical specialists. There was talk of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s. Finally, after nine frustrating years, he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), or excess fluid in the brain, a condition that can resemble Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. However, unlike those two dis- haveit. People with NPH walk like their feet are glued to the floor. controlled with treatment. Once Fowler was treated for NPH, he experienced an almost immediate recovery and resumed his active lifestyle. Unfortunately, his story may and an expert on NPH. “An MRI or CT scan can confirm or rule out the condition.” NPHis treated with a shunt. This tubelike device is implanted in the head to drain excess fluid that 375,000 people in the U.S.— or five percent of those who think they have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia—mayactually have NPH. Many NPHsufferers, like Fowler, are either misdiagnosed or not diagnosed atall. where it can be safely absorbed. At times, the shunt may need to be adjusted because removing too much fluid or too little fluid may be dangerous. That adjustment used to require further surgery, but now it is done less invasively with a programmable shunt. A doctor can make the adjustment simply by holding a magnet to a patient’s head. Fowler had a programmable shunt implanted and soon after that he was thinking clearly, working again, playing golf with his friends, traveling and enjoying time with his young granddaughter. For more information about NPHvisit www.lifenph.com orcall 1-866-LIFENPH. eases, NPH can be reversed or not be unique. Experts estimate NPH, an accumulation of excess fluid around the brain, is characterized by three primary symptoms: a magnetic gait or shuffling as if a person’s feet are glued to the floor, incontinence and dementia. “If someone is 55 or older and has any combination of these symptoms, they should see a doctor and ask about NPH,”said Mark Luciano, MD, PhD, a neuro- surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic NPH affects about 375,000 people in the U.S. who may not know they from the brain to the abdomen,
