Hanne Yri

Cognitive function in idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a prospective case–control study

Objective To explore the extent and nature of cognitive deficits in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) at the time of diagnosis and after 3 months of treatment. Design Prospective case–control study. Setting Neurological department, ophthalmological department and a tertiary headache referral clinic at a Danish university hospital. Participants 31 patients with definite IIH referred from June 2011 to February 2013 and included within 1 week of diagnostic intracranial pressure (ICP) measurement. 29 patients completed re-examination at the 3-month follow-up. At the time of testing, none of the patients took medication potentially affecting cognitive function. Controls were 31 healthy age-matched and sex-matched volunteers from the local community. Outcome measures Executive function, working memory, visuospatial memory, processing speed, attention and reaction time assessed by a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery consisting of validated computerised (Cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery) and paper-and-pencil tests. Results Patients with IIH performed significantly worse than controls in four of six cognitive domains (p≤0.02). Deficits were most pronounced in reaction time (1.45 SD below controls 95% CI 2.10 to 0.85) and processing speed (1.48 SD below controls 95% CI 2.08 to 0.81). Despite marked improvement in ICP and headache, re-examination showed persistent cognitive dysfunction 3 months after diagnosis and start of treatment. Conclusions We demonstrate for the first time in a well-defined cohort of patients that IIH may be associated with cognitive dysfunction. This could explain the functional disability of patients with IIH. A focused multidisciplinary approach including neuropsychological rehabilitation, therefore, might be relevant in the treatment of patients with IIH.

The course of headache in idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a 12-month prospective follow-up study.

Our aim was to prospectively describe the course of headache during the first year of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: Clinical nosography and field-testing of the ICHD diagnostic criteria. A case-control study

Aims The aims of this article are to characterize the headache in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and to field-test the ICHD diagnostic criteria for headache attributed to IIH. Materials and methods We included 44 patients with new-onset IIH. Thirty-four patients with suspected but unconfirmed IIH served as controls. Headache and other IIH-related symptoms were assessed by a detailed standardized interview. In participants referred before diagnostic lumbar puncture (n = 67), we recorded headache intensity before and after cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) withdrawal. Results Headache in patients with IIH was daily occurring in 86%, focal in 84% and pulsating in 52%. Aggravation of headache by coughing or straining and relief after CSF withdrawal were significantly more frequent in patients than in controls (p ≤ 0.002). From the ICHD-2 to the ICHD-3 beta classification the sensitivity increased from 60% to 86% whereas the specificity decreased from 86% to 53%. Based on our data the headache criteria can be revised to increase sensitivity to 95% and specificity to 65%. Conclusion Aggravation of headache by coughing or straining, relief after CSF withdrawal, retrobulbar pain and pulsatile tinnitus may suggest intracranial hypertension. Based on data from a well-defined IIH cohort, we propose a revision of the ICDH-3 beta diagnostic criteria with improved clinical applicability and increased sensitivity and specificity.

The diagnosis and management of idiopathic intracranial hypertension and the associated headache

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a challenging disorder with a rapid increasing incidence due to a close relation to obesity. The onset of symptoms is often insidious and patients may see many different specialists before the IIH diagnosis is settled. A summary of diagnosis, symptoms, headache characteristics and course, as well as existing evidence of treatment strategies is presented and strategies for investigations and management are proposed.

Syphilis mimicking idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a condition of yet unknown aetiology affecting predominantly obese females of childbearing age. IIH is a diagnosis of exclusion as raised cerebrospinal fluid pressure may occur secondary to numerous other medical conditions. An atypical phenotype or an atypical disease course should alert the physician to reevaluate a presumed IIH-diagnosis. The authors report a case of a 32-year-old non-obese male with intracranial hypertension, secondary to a syphilitic central nervous system infection, initially misdiagnosed as being idiopathic. Upon relevant antibiotic treatment, signs and symptoms of elevated intracranial pressure resolved completely. Syphilis is a rare, but very important, differential diagnosis that in this case was clinically indistinguishable from IIH.

Long-term visual outcome in a Danish population of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is characterized by raised intracranial pressure (ICP), normal cerebrospinal composition and exclusion of alternative causes to increased ICP. The aim of this study was to evaluate long‐term visual outcome in a Danish population of IIH patients.

Osmolality of Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)

Introduction Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder of increased intracranial fluid pressure (ICP) of unknown etiology. This study aims to investigate osmolality of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with IIH. Methods We prospectively collected CSF from individuals referred on suspicion of IIH from 2011–2013. Subjects included as patients fulfilled Friedman and Jacobson’s diagnostic criteria for IIH. Individuals in whom intracranial hypertension was refuted were included as controls. Lumbar puncture with ICP measurement was performed at inclusion and repeated for patients after three months of treatment. Osmolality was measured with a Vapor Pressure Osmometer. Results We collected 90 CSF samples from 38 newly diagnosed patients and 28 controls. At baseline 27 IIH-samples and at 3 months follow-up 35 IIH-samples were collected from patients. We found no significant differences in osmolality between 1) patients at baseline and controls (p = 0. 86), 2) patients at baseline and after 3 months treatment (p = 0.97), and 3) patients with normalized pressure after 3 months and their baseline values (p = 0.79). Osmolality in individuals with normal ICP from 6–25 cmH2O (n = 41) did not differ significantly from patients with moderately elevated ICP from 26–45 cmH2O (n = 21) (p = 0.86) and patients with high ICP from 46–70 cmH2O (n = 4) (p = 0.32), respectively. There was no correlation between osmolality and ICP, BMI, age and body height, respectively. Mean CSF osmolality was 270 mmol/kg (± 1 SE, 95% confidence interval 267–272) for both patients and controls. Conclusions CSF osmolality was normal in patients with IIH, and there was no relation to treatment, ICP, BMI, age and body height. Mean CSF osmolality was 270 mmol/kg and constitutes a reference for future studies. Changes in CSF osmolality are not responsible for development of IIH. Other underlying pathophysiological mechanisms must be searched.

EHMTI-0155. The course of headache in idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a 12 month prospective follow-up study.

Methods Patients with newly diagnosed IIH were consecutively included from December 2010 to June 2013. Treatment according to international guidelines was initiated at diagnosis. Headache history was based on diaries and standardized interviews performed at baseline and after 1, 2, 3 and 12 months. Intracranial pressure (ICP) was recorded at base line and after 3 months. Papilledema was assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and compared to healthy controls.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is not benign; a prospective long-term follow-up study

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) primarily affects young obese females, and potentially causes visual loss and severe headache.