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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffThe exact cause of pseudotumor cerebri in most individuals is unknown, but it may be linked to an excess amount of cerebrospinal fluid within the bony confines of your skull.
Your brain and spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which acts like a cushion to protect these vital tissues from injury. This fluid is produced in the brain and eventually is absorbed into the bloodstream. The increased intracranial pressure of pseudotumor cerebri may be a result of a problem in this absorption process.
In general, your intracranial pressure increases when the contents of your skull exceed its capacity. For example, a brain tumor typically increases your intracranial pressure because there's no room for it. The same thing happens if your brain swells or if you have too much cerebrospinal fluid.
- NINDS pseudotumor cerebri information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pseudotumorcerebri/pseudotumorcerebri.htm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Stebbins GT, et al. Headache. In Goetz CG. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/105339567-3/0/1488/451.html?tocnode=53805161&fromURL=451.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3618-0..10053-0--s0290_4630. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Kwiatkowski T, et al. Headache. In: Marx JA. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/105359053-3/750608143/1365/305.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50106-2--cesec45_5292. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Chapman K, et al. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri) in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- What is IH? Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation. http://www.ihrfoundation.org/intracranial/hypertension/info/C16. Accessed Sept. 23, 2008.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Sept. 23, 2008.
- Daniels AB, et al. Profiles of obesity, weight gain and quality of life in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri). American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2007;143(4):635-41.
