ORPHA:2185
Congenital hydrocephalus
Publications
4,768
Trials
1
Interventional, condition-specific
Researchers
1,180
Distinct authors in sample
Gene link
LDB1
Strong
Readiness
4/6
Stages with a signal
Clinical definition (Orphanet)
A rare central nervous system characterized by abnormally enlarged cerebral ventricles due to impaired cerebrospinal fluid circulation. It arises in utero and can be either acquired or inherited. The severity of the resulting brain damage depends on the duration and extent of ventriculomegaly.
How rare: How common this is has not been clearly measured.
Cross-references
Joined from Mondo / Orphanet. MeSH labels may enter searches; UMLS / OMIM / NCIT are stored for reference.
- MONDO:0016349
- UMLS:C0020256
- NCIT:C98876
Additional Mondo synonyms (1)
congenital hydrocephalus
Research stages
Trial readiness signals
Where this condition sits on an open-data research pipeline — not how close a treatment is, and not medical advice. Empty stages often mean “not in these databases under this Mondo ID,” not “impossible.”
4/6 stages with a signal
An interventional trial matched this condition name on ClinicalTrials.gov — see trials below.
- Gene identifiedPresent
Strong — LDB1
- LiteraturePresent
4,768 matched papers (2,432 in last 10 years) Source
- Phenotype characterisedPresent
94 HPO annotations (e.g. Seizure; Hydrocephalus; Ventriculomegaly) Source
- Animal modelNot found
No Alliance genotype “model of” associations via Monarch for these Mondo IDs
- Orphan designationNot found
No FDA or EMA orphan-drug designation matched this disease via UMLS or preferred name Source
- Interventional trialPresent
1 matched on ClinicalTrials.gov (1 recruiting in sample)
Biology
Genes and phenotypes
Gene–disease validity from GenCC, plus phenotypes and animal models joined from Monarch Initiative via Mondo ID — not a clinical diagnosis aid.
Do we know what causes it?
Yes — we know a specific gene responsible (LDB1).
GenCC classification: Strong.
Phenotypes (Monarch / HPO)
94
Associated phenotypes · MONDO:0016349
- Seizure
- Hydrocephalus
- Ventriculomegaly
- Intellectual disability
- Sensorineural hearing impairment
Showing 5 of 94 — open Monarch for the full list.
Animal models (Monarch / Alliance)
None returned for this Mondo ID. Empty here is not proof that no model organism work exists under another name or gene.
Monarch fetch 2026-07-29
Therapies
Designations, candidates, and chemicals
FDA OOPD and EMA orphan designations, Open Targets clinical candidates, and CTD chemical associations via MyDisease.info. These never change the interventional-trial headline.
Orphan designation (FDA · EMA)
No designation matched this disease via UMLS or preferred name on the FDA OOPD mirror or EMA orphan register. Absence here is not proof that none exists under another wording.
CTD chemicals (MyDisease.info)
No CTD chemical associations returned for this Mondo ID.
Literature
Is anyone studying this?
4,768
4,768 papers have been published on this condition. That is a real research literature — still far smaller than common diseases (breast cancer: over 700,000 papers). Median papers in the last 10 years for a rare disease in this dataset (publications denominator n=3967) is 59.
4,768 papers since the earliest indexed year in this search — median last-10-year count for a rare disease in this dataset is 59 (publications denominator n=3967).
2,432 in the last 10 years · low confidence
Phrase hits: 3,218 · MeSH hits: 0
Who's working on it?
1,180
Distinct author names in 200 sampled papers — named people below.
Who's working on it?
People publishing on this condition (sampled Europe PMC records). Affiliation is the most recent found in that sample.
- 01Kahle KT10 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC - 02Duy PQ8 papers · 2026
Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC - 03Allington G6 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
Papers in Europe PMC - 04Alper SL6 papers · 2026
Division of Nephrology and Vascular Biology Research Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC - 05Jin SC6 papers · 2026
Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC - 06Mehta NH6 papers · 2026
Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Papers in Europe PMC - 07Haider S5 papers · 2026
School of Pharmacy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Papers in Europe PMC - 08Mekbib KY5 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC - 09Moreno-de-Luca A5 papers · 2026
Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Section, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Queen's University Faculty of Health Sciences, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Papers in Europe PMC - 10Dennis E4 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Papers in Europe PMC
Clinical research
Is a treatment being tested?
1
interventional trials for this specific condition
1 interventional trial matched this specific condition name; 1 currently recruiting in our sample. 119 trials are registered for hydrocephalus, the broader category — shown separately because they may or may not enrol this specific subtype.
Data as of 11 September 2026 · last trial check 28 July 2026
1 interventional trial — more than 77.2% of diseases in the trials denominator have none at all (5501 of 7126; this disease is at the 80.1th percentile).
low confidence · 80.1th percentile (trials denominator)
Recruiting interventional trials
From the matched ClinicalTrials.gov set
1 interventional trials matched after quoted-phrase search and title/condition post-filter.
- NCT06664372·NOT YET RECRUITING·Insertion of Frontal Ventricular Catheter of VP Shunt in Congenital Hydrocephalus Guided by Trans Fontanelle Ultrasound
Not reviewed·Conditions: Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt · Trans Fontanelle US · Congenital Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
Broader category: hydrocephalus
119
Interventional trials for the parent category, exclusive of NCT IDs already counted above. Eligibility for this subtype is not guaranteed.
Worth raising with a clinician. How we count trials.
Recruiting under the broader category
- NCT06426004·NOT YET RECRUITING·Addressing Health Disparities in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) in Maryland
Not reviewed·Conditions: Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus · Hakim Syndrome·Matched via name phrase
- NCT04998175·RECRUITING·Multi-omics Research of Idopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (iNPH)
Not reviewed·Conditions: Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06132139·NOT YET RECRUITING·VisAR Augmented Reality Navigation of Ventriculostomy
Not reviewed·Conditions: Obstructive Hydrocephalus · Subarachnoid Hemorrhage · Brain Trauma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07694518·NOT YET RECRUITING·Role of Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy Imanagement of Hydrocephalus in Pediatric Age Group; Clinical and Surgical Outcome
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT04177914·RECRUITING·HCRN Endoscopic Versus Shunt Treatment of Hydrocephalus in Infants
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07630051·NOT YET RECRUITING·Strategies for Weaning From External Ventricular Drainage
Not reviewed·Conditions: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage · Hydrocephalus · Intracranial Hypertension · External Ventricular Drainage·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07600463·NOT YET RECRUITING·UVC in Prevention of Surgical Wound Infection
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06797219·RECRUITING·Light Therapy Device for Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage Grade 3 and 4
Not reviewed·Conditions: Intraventricular Hemorrhage of Prematurity · Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06086561·RECRUITING·Longitudinal Measurements of Flow in Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts With a Wireless Thermal Anisotropy Measurement Device
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05546996·RECRUITING·EVD Drainage Data and Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Measurements
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06419842·RECRUITING·Impact of Hypnosis for Performing Lumbar Infusion Tests
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hypnosis · Hydrocephalus · Anxiety · Pain·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06310213·ENROLLING BY INVITATION·Non-Invasive Pressure Monitor for Neonates & Infants at Risk of Developing Hydrocephalus
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus in Infants·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06994949·RECRUITING·Assessing CSF Flow Dynamics in Pediatric Hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus
Not reviewed·Conditions: Post-hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus (PHH)·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07679035·NOT YET RECRUITING·Study of Shunt Flow Under Different Valve Settings Using a Wireless Sensor
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06996600·RECRUITING·Assessment of CSF Shunt Flow and Headaches With a Thermal Measurement Device
Not reviewed·Conditions: Hydrocephalus·Matched via name phrase
Other registries (secondary)
Broader net from EU CTIS, ISRCTN, and ICTRP when available — deduped against ClinicalTrials.gov IDs already counted above. Dual-model LLM relevance gates what we keep. These rows are not added to the interventional headline.
raw 13 · after dedupe 13 · already on CT.gov 0 · kept 0 · parent 0 · uncertain 13 · dropped 0 · fetched 2026-07-29
Source notes: ictrp: Error: ICTRP public search unavailable (WHO portal is SPA-only; SOAP needs partnership). Tried: https://apps.who.int/tri
No secondary-registry studies passed dual-model relevance for this condition name (after dedupe).
Uncertain / not reviewed (13)
- isrctn·ISRCTN12504814·Recruiting·The investigation of eye tear film proteins to see if there is an association with the stage of an eye condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) which can occur in some premature babies; and the investigation of eye nerve development in these babies
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN15471325·No longer recruiting·Can we detect early changes in brain function and behaviour after anesthesia in infants?
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN64647571·No longer recruiting·The role of early nutrition on the development of very low birth weight newborns
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN16454889·No longer recruiting·Role of Probiotics in recovery of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN11517275·No longer recruiting·Induction of labour versus expectant management for women over 35 years
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN57878347·No longer recruiting·A phase III randomised, open label clinical trial evaluating the immunogenicity of a 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine booster compared to the standard 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine booster given at 12 months of age to healthy children who have received the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine at 2 and 4 months of age
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN28699995·No longer recruiting·Cooling in INtraCerebral Haemorrhage (CINCH) trial
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN84264977·No longer recruiting·Does selective early treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in extreme preterm infants reduce the complications and improve their long-term outcome?
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN21841117·No longer recruiting·Broader Protection Against Pneumococcal Disease
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN05511098·No longer recruiting·The administration of probiotic to premature babies to prevent infection, severe intestinal complication (i.e. necrotising enterocolitis) and death
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN58435532·No longer recruiting·Amyloid imaging in Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and healthy volunteers
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN72553588·No longer recruiting·A randomised controlled trial: two haemoglobin thresholds for transfusion in newborns less than 1000 g birth weight
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN48954234·No longer recruiting·Efficacy of zinc (given as an adjunct) in the treatment of severe and very severe pneumonia in hospitalised children 2 to 24 months of age
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
Where to find support
Condition-specific patient organisations, when Orphanet lists them, are on the disease’s Orphanet page. We also link umbrella groups that support undiagnosed and ultra-rare families.
Orphanet entry for Congenital hydrocephalus — check Associations / patient organisations on that page.
India — NPRD
Last verified 2026-07-26This ORPHAcode is not on our curated NPRD list (direct or Mondo-parent match). That does not decide clinical eligibility; families in India should ask a notified Centre of Excellence about current coverage.
Hand-curated for this project. ORPHAcode mappings are best-effort and may be incomplete or imprecise for umbrella categories. Parent (Mondo) matches mean the policy lists a broader category — confirm eligibility with a Centre of Excellence. Financial entitlements summarised from public policy statements and may change. This is not official government guidance.
How we counted this
Europe PMC query (preferred label + any corrected label + Orphanet and Mondo exact synonyms, stoplisted; unioned with resolved MeSH labels when available). UMLS / OMIM / NCIT cross-references are stored on the overview but are not added to the query string.
("Congenital hydrocephalus") OR ("LDB1" OR "LDB1 syndrome" OR "LDB1-related")ClinicalTrials.gov query (quoted phrases + MeSH via query.cond, plus recall-expansion terms when used):
"Congenital hydrocephalus"
Interventional trials matched via: phrase (mesh = registered under a MeSH descriptor no name phrase would catch; recall-expansion = gene / selected parent terms used only for trials).
Study-type breakdown: 1 interventional · 0 observational · 0 expanded access. Only interventional studies enter the trial headline.
Parent-category trials query:
"hydrocephalus"
Query health: ok — strategies attempted: phrase; with hits: phrase
Run this search on ClinicalTrials.gov
Confidence reasoning
- Preferred label is multi-word and distinctive
- No synonyms dropped by stoplist
- No label/synonym collisions with other diseases in this corpus
- Publication count (4768) is extremely high with unknown/missing prevalence — treat as possible over-matching, not proven research intensity
Ingested 2026-07-26T19:24:31.576Z
