Affiliations: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos
Aires, Argentina | Raúl Carrea Institute, Buenos Aires,
Argentina | Institute of Neuroscience, Favaloro University, Buenos
Aires Argentina
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Facundo Manes, Institute of Cognitive
Neurology (INECO), Castex 3293, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tel./Fax: +54 (11)
4807 4748; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate improvement of
executive functions after shunt surgery in patients with early normal pressure
hydrocephalus (NPH). Patients with NPH were assessed before and after shunt
surgery with tests shown to be sensitive to damage to the prefrontal cortex
(PFC). Significant differences were found between basal and follow-up
performances on the Boston Naming Test, the backwards digits span, Part B of
the Trail Making Test, and the number of words produced on the phonological
fluency task. In conclusion, our study reveals that patients with NPH who
respond positively to continuous slow lumbar cerebral spinal fluid drainage and
receive a ventriculoperitoneal shunt implant, improve their performance on
tasks of executive function. Due to the high demand for this form of mental
processing in real-life complex scenarios, and based on the severe executive
deficits present in both demented and non-demented NPH patients, we encourage
the assessment of executive functions in this clinical group.
