Update on Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Abstract

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder of elevated intracranial pressure of unknown cause occurring predominantly in young women of childbearing age. The typical patient symptom profile is the presence of daily headache, pulse synchronous tinnitus, transient visual obscurations, and papilledema with its associated visual loss. Although surgical procedures are performed for those who fail medical therapy, their relative efficacy remains unclear. The main morbidity of IIH is from visual loss. This visual loss is present in most patients and can usually be reversed if recognized early in the patients’ course and treated.