Significance of the so-called absorptive reserve in communicating hydrocephalus: a preliminary report.

Twelve patients with communicating hydrocephalus were studied with a servocontrolled lumbar infusion technique to measure net cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) absorptive capacity and resting pressure. Each patient showed a significant absorptive reserve; the rate of CSF absorption exceeded the rate of formation over a physiological range of pressure. The size of the ventricles did not correlate with either the absorptive capacity or the resting pressure parameter, or both. The data suggest that communicating hydrocephalus does not reflect a simple imbalance between the rates of CSF formation and absorption. Other factors must be of etiological importance and are considered in the discussion.