Investigator-initiated multicenter prospective clinical trials for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus in Japan

Hiroaki Kazui

Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine

Two investigator-initiated multicenter prospective clinical trials for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) with ventriculomegaly and tight high-convexity and medial subarachnoid spaces were conducted in Japan. The first study demonstrated that activity of daily living improved after ventriculo-peritoneal shunt surgery with programmable valve in 80% of iNPH patients and the improvement was recognized at 12 months after shunt surgery in 69% of the iNPH patients. The second study was an open-label randomised controlled study and confirmed that lumbo-peritoneal shunt surgery with programmable valve was beneficial for iNPH patients. In addition, thirteen papers using the data from the two studies were published.

Address correspondence to Dr. Hiroaki Kazui, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University(Kohasu, Oka-cho, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8505, Japan)