Idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Members
Rigmor Jensen, Maren Skau.

Background
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is an intriguing, clinical condition of increased intracranial pressure without pathological, laboratory or radiological evidence of intracranial pathology in young, obese individuals. The clinical symptoms are severe headache, pulsatile tinnitus, transitory visual obscurations and diplopia. Demographic studies report a rapidly increasing incidence of IIH in obese young females and with the global epidemic increase of obesity a significant increase in the number of IIH patients in Denmark can be predicted. Severe obesity is closely related to a number of neuroendocrinological changes which has still not been evaluated in IIH.

Untreated IIH may lead to severe visual loss and blindness resulting from damage to the optic nerve. The mechanism whereby IIH leads to optic nerve dysfunction is poorly understood but it seems to be closely linked to oedema of the optic nerve head and the associated elevation of hydrostatic pressure inside the optic nerve.

The multidisciplinary study of IIH comprising neurobiological and ophthalmological aspects is a unique study of still unsolved aspects in IIH.

Current projects
One cross-sectional study of ophthalmological and neurobiological aspects in Idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

One longitudinal study of ophthalmological and neurobiological aspects in Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, with specific focus on treatment and functional outcome.

Collaboration
Dan Milea, Department of Ophthalmology, Glostrup Hospital, Denmark

Jens Peter Gøtze and Jens Rehfeld, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Danish National Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.