COMBINED DRUG AND CSF REMOVAL THERAPIES AND SYSTEMS

摘要

Diseases and other conditions of the central nervous system are treated by concurrently or sequentially delivering a therapeutic agent to a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space and draining CSF from the CSF space. Systems (70) include one or more implantable catheters (52, 60, 66)for accessing the CSF space, typically in a ventricle or lumbar space, in one catheters for draining the CSF to another location, such as the peritoneal cavity. Implantable pumps (54) provided for delivering the therapeutic agent through the CSF space access catheter and implantable flow control mechanisms (64) are provided for controlling the rate and volume of CSF drainage from the CSF space.