Benign intracranial hypertension (pseudotumour cerebri)

Question 1

Key features are

Answer 1

headache

visual blurring and obscurations

nausea

papilloedema

Question 2

Causes

Answer 2

This is a rare but important sinister headache condition

Typically occurs in young obese women.

It is sometimes linked to drugs:

• tetracyclines (most common)
• nitrofuranton
• OCP
• vitamin A preparations.

Question 3

Investigations

Answer 3

The CT and MRI scans are normal

Lumbar puncture,

• which relieves the headache,
• reveals increased CSF pressure and normal CSF analysis