Longest living Hydrocephalic

The longest living hydrocephalic is Theresa Alvina Schaan (Canada) who was born on the 17 March 1941 and diagnosed with having congenital hydrocephalus. Also known as "water on the brain," it is a condition in which there is extra cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around the brain and spinal cord. A shunt has been inserted beneath her skull to drain the spinal fluid accumulating in her head. There is no known way to prevent or cure hydrocephalus and shunts (first used in 1952) are the primary method of treatment. Over the past 25 years, death rates associated with hydrocephalus have decreased from 54% to 5%; intellectual disabilitity has decreased from 62% to 30%. Source The Hydrocephalus Foundation, Inc.