Postural disturbance in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus

The postural function in 52 patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NP H) and in 19 patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE ) was analysed bedside and in 17 of the NPH, 10 of the SAE and 23 healthy i ndividuals (HI) also examined with a force platform. At the bedside examina tion, no differences in postural functions between NPH and SAE patients wer e found. The NPH patients improved more in the postural than in motor funct ions after shunt surgery. The NPH patients had a larger sway area and a hig her backward directed velocity of centre of pressure than HI. The direction of the inclination in the sagittal plane was neutral or forward in the NPH and the SAE patients while it was backward in HI. The postural function wa s better in positions with open eyes in all 3 groups. but significantly les s in the NPH patients, indicating a misinterpretation of afferent visual st imuli in the brainstem postural centre.