Expressing Sense of Congress Regarding Need for Additional Research into Hydrocephalus

EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEED FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH INTO HYDROCEPHALUS

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I am here today to ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution. Hydrocephalus is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain, and it affects nearly 1 million Americans. Without treatment, hydrocephalus is fatal, but when treated, most people with this condition can lead full and productive lives.

I became aware of this condition through a constituent and a friend of mine, Cynthia Solomon, who has a family member who suffers from this condition. Cynthia struggled to find information about hydrocephalus and wanted to connect with other affected families. So she cofounded the first patient advocacy organization for this condition, the Hydrocephalus Association.

As anyone who has been affected by this condition can tell you, the symptoms are many and they vary from person to person. Excess fluid in the brain can cause head enlargement, blurred vision, seizures, learning disabilities and impaired physical development. In older adults, symptoms can mimic dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, often leading to a misdiagnosis and a delay in receiving critical and proper treatment.

Doctors do not yet understand the specific causes of hydrocephalus. However, the current treatment was developed back in 1952 and involves surgically inserting a shunt into the brain. This carries serious risk of shunt failure, infection and obstructions. Overdrainage is also a threat. This can trigger a vertical collapse, causing blood vessels to tear and possibly resulting in a subdural hematoma.

Improvement in this treatment is long overdue, and with additional research, we can make it happen.

The National Institutes of Health recognizes this need and recently organized their first ever conference on hydrocephalus. This has resulted in efforts to initiate new collaborative research projects and an expansion of their focus on the development of new treatments.

This resolution commends the NIH for their action and encourages them to continue their collaborative efforts. It also calls for additional research into this serious condition.

However, we cannot depend solely on Federal efforts to expand awareness about hydrocephalus. I commend the Hydrocephalus Association and other groups for their commitment to patient advocacy and public education. Partnerships between these groups, health care providers and the government will bring us closer to our common goal: improved treatment of this condition.

I would like to say a special thanks to Dory Kranz, who is the current director of the Hydrocephalus Association, for her help in putting this resolution together and her ongoing work in this regard.

I ask my colleagues for their support of this resolution so we can further research into this very serious and important condition and we can bring about improved treatment to those individuals who are affected by this very, very serious and debilitating condition.

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