Anatom3D
ENCZDE
Download

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Hypertensio intracranialis idiopathica (pseudotumor cerebri) · Idiopatická intrakraniální hypertenze

What it is

Raised pressure of the fluid around the brain with no tumour or other cause, mostly in women of childbearing age with obesity; swollen optic discs can permanently damage sight.

Symptoms & signs

  • Daily headache, worse lying down
  • whooshing, pulsing sound in the ears
  • brief blackouts of vision
  • double vision
  • loss of visual field

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Sudden loss of sight or severe headache with vomiting
  • see a doctor soon Vision greying out for seconds, or blurred or double vision
  • see a doctor soon Headache worse lying down, with a pulsing noise in the ears
  • see a doctor soon Headache in pregnancy or getting worse despite treatment

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • MRI with venography; lumbar puncture pressure
  • Weight loss — the only treatment that removes the cause; bariatric surgery beat a community programme (IIH:WT) trials support
  • Acetazolamide — IIHTT: modest visual gain with diet in mild vision loss; tingling, altered taste mixed evidence
  • topiramate
  • optic nerve sheath fenestration or CSF shunt when sight is threatened
  • venous sinus stenting

Natural & lifestyle

  • Structured weight-loss programme
  • avoid tetracyclines and excess vitamin A
  • headache diary

Emerging & experimental

  • GLP-1 agonists (exenatide lowered pressure in a small trial)
  • 11β-HSD1 inhibitors

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Low-salt diet — traditional advice; untested anecdotal / traditional
  • Acupuncture for headache — not studied in this condition anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes