The HCRN semi-annual meeting was held in Park City, Utah, September 29-30. There was record attendance with 26 participants! We welcomed the Investigators from 2 new centers: Dr. Mandeep Tamber from Pittsburgh and Dr. David Limbrick from St. Louis.

Kym Call from the Utah Data Coordinating Center was a featured guest speaker, who introduced us to data monitoring. Kym is helping us to get started on this process to insure the highest possible quality of our data and study methods.

Six proposals for new HCRN studies were presented and reviewed. Two were chosen to be incorporated into our body of work. Dr. Riva-Cambrin will evaluate neuropsychology testing in children with hydrocephalus. A goal of the project is to try and identify a small subset of the full neuropsychology tests that would be easier to do clinically and still give valid information on how children are doing. Dr. David Limbrick is studying two proteins in the CSF of children with intraventricular hemorrhage to evaluate their role in patient management. This is part of an NIH application that he is submitting and through HCRN, he will be able to obtain CSF from a large number of patients for this work. The other projects are still in development. Some modifications and pilot studies were suggested so that these can come on line in the future.

The latest updates from the shunt, ETV and infection registry, as well as the ultrasound study were presented. Some refinement of the protocol for the study of Post Hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus was also accomplished.

Overall, it was an exciting meeting and we look forward to the next one in Alabama in the spring of 2011.