Pseudotumor Cerebri in Lyme Disease: a Case Report and Literature Review

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Pseudotumor Cerebri in Lyme Disease: a Case Report and Literature Review PSEUDOTUMOR CEREBRI [PTC] IDIOPATHIC INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION [IIH] BENIGN INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION [BIH] Jacqueline M.S. Winterkorn, PhD, MD Case: A 29 year old woman c/o headaches that have been diagnosed as migraine but have been worsening lately and even awaken her from sleep. The HA radiates down into her neck. She also describes “seeing stars” when she bends down or stands up suddenly. The morning of the exam, while riding in the car, she noticed side by side double vision. She is obese, having recently reached 300 lbs on her 5’6” frame. Her hands get so swollen that she can’t wear her wedding ring. PSEUDOTUMOR CEREBRI [PTC] 1896 Quinke, 1904 Nonne Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension [IIH] MODIFIED DANDY CRITERIA • Signs and symptoms of increased ICP ° Papilledema, HA, TVO, diplopia, tinnitus • Normal neuro exam-No localizing findings • Increased ICP >250 mm H20 • Normal CSF • Normal neuroimaging Pseudotumor Cerebri [PTC] • Returning to PTC terminology • BIH: VF loss - Not visually benign • IIH: Increasingly finding basis for elevated ICP - no longer idiopathic EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PTC • Incidence 1/100,000 • 90% obese • 90% women • age at diagnosis 30 • In obese women of childbearing age, incidence 19/100,000 MAJOR SYMPTOMS Result from increased ICP • Headache….…………………….>95% • Visual Symptoms .……………30-70% ° Transient Visual Obscurations..70% ° Eye Pain ………………………..50% ° Horizontal Diplopia………...10-20% ° Loss of vision less than 20/200…25% • Intracranial Noises ……………….60% OTHER COMMON SYMPTOMS • Stiff Neck • Dizziness • Nausea • Ataxia • Back and leg pain • Paresthesias RARE SYMPTOMS Think of another diagnosis • Hearing Loss • Vertical ocular motor complaints [CN IV] • Facial Palsy [CN VII] • Torticollis CLINICAL SIGNS of PTC PAPILLEDEMA • Stages ° 1. Early: dilation of RGC axons ° 2. Acute decompensation:heme, CW, elevation, venous engorgement ° 3. Chronic: Grossly swollen ° 4. Atrophic: Pallor, pseudodrusen • May be asymmetric • Swelling resolves with Optic Atrophy Early papilledema Bucket Brigade Metaphor • Optic nerve transport like bucket brigade • High ICP/IOP blocks fast transport • buckets collect at feet of ischemic members • The untransmitted material builds up as papilledema Stereo pair Papilledema after removal of torcular meningioma Papilledema after Left Jugular ligation Chronic Papilledema ASYMMETRIC PAPILLEDEMA • Usually symmetric • Occasionally unilateral • Subarachnoid meshwork within optic canal acts as incomplete barrier to transmission of CSF pressure • Decreased elasticity of lamina cribrosa • Optic atrophy obviates disc swelling • If asymmetry, expect RAPD CLINICAL SIGNS OF PTC VISUAL LOSS • Vision is normal in early papilledema • OPTIC NEUROPATHY develops late ° Visual Acuity ° Color ° Visual Fields ° Pupils PTC and Glaucoma • Similar VF defects • Similar progression • Similar early sparing of central vision • Similar pressure on lamina cribrosa VISUAL FIELDS with INCREASED ICP • Early: Blindspot enlargement • VF defects ° inferior nasal loss ° arcuate scotomas ° central scotomas • Late: generalized VF constriction • Blindness Nasal step Altitudinal Loss What Visual Fields are Not Seen in PTC • Localizing Patterns ° homonymous hemianopsias ° bitemporal defects ° cecocentral defects • Look for alternate diagnosis Follow HVF 24-2 No role for VEP VEP latency • Delayed P100 reported • Remains normal until serious VF loss • Not a way to follow optic nerve function Most at Risk for Visual Loss? • Recent weight gain • Black males • Anemic Normal NEUROIMAGING IN PTC • CT normal ° normal [or small] ventricles ° empty sella ° enlarged optic nerves in 36% • MRI preferable • Common findings in “normal” MRI: ° empty sella ° flattening of posterior orbit ° dilated optic nerve sheath Brodsky CLINICAL SIGNS OF PTC OCULAR MOTOR DISTURBANCE • DIPLOPIA ° VIth Cranial Nerve ° Divergence Insufficiency ° IVth Cranial Nerve ° Skew deviation NEUROIMAGING for CAUSES of Elevated ICP Look for • mass • venous sinus stenosis, thrombosis • dural AVM Techniques • MRI/MRA • MRV • CT arteriography • Cerebral angiogram CAUSES of ELEVATED ICP • Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension →Intracranial Mass Lesion • Hydrocephalus • Venous Sinus obstruction • Intracranial Hemorrhage • Meningitis • Sleep apnea • Craniosynostosis • Vitamin A toxicity Cerebral Veins and Sinuses 24 yo man with sudden onset HA, diplopia and tinnitus • HA started 2 days after surgical removal of brachial arch cyst • Involved ligation of right int jugular vein Gadolinium-enhanced axial MRI MRI-Venogram [TR30 TE9] demonstrates mastoiditis [arrow] coronal view, shows absence of flow in right transverse sinus, c/w venous thrombosis Sleep Apnea • Abnormal airway during sleep. Multiple sites of obstruction: • Elongated enlarged soft palate • Retruding jaw pushes an enlarged tongue • Short neck • Obese 4/5/00 4 yo girl evaluated for craniosynostosis/brachycephaly 4/5/00 CAUSES OF HIGH ICP • Vitamin A preparations ° Isotretinoin [Accutane] ° Vitamin A >100,000 units/day –dry desquamated skin –hair loss –bone pain –hepatosplenomegaly • Mechanism of action - blocks CSF reabsorption LUMBAR PUNCTURE IN PTC OP, cell count, glucose, protein, VDRL • LP required for diagnosis • Increased Opening Pressure >250 mm H2O • Normal Protein ° when decreased probably dilutional • No cells ° misdiagnosis of aseptic meningitis Error/Misrepresentation in Lyme literature • “Pseudotumor cerebri and Lyme disease: a new association…” • CSF showed ° lymphocytosis/pleocytosis ° elevated protein • Lyme meningitis/not Pseudotumor cerebri e.g. Kan, Sood, Maytal Pediatr Neurology 1998 18:439 Pseudotumor cerebri in Lyme disease: a case report and literature review. Pediatr Neurol 1998 May;18(5):439-41 Kan L, Sood SK, Maytal J. Division of Pediatric Neurology, Schneider Children's Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Long Island Campus for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New Hyde Park, New York 11040, USA. Pseudotumor cerebri is an unusual presentation of Lyme disease. The case of an 8-year- old girl with pseudotumor cerebri secondary to acute neuroborreliosis is reported. She presented with acute onset of headache, papilledema, sixth nerve palsy, increased intracranial pressure, and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid Lyme antibodies were positive. Twelve reported cases that mostly presented with systemic findings and signs of Lyme disease before development of pseudotumor cerebri were reviewed. We conclude that acute neuroborreliosis can present with pseudotumor cerebri as an initial manifestation. It is important to include Lyme disease in the differential diagnosis of pseudotumor cerebri in an area endemic for Lyme disease. CASE: A 35 year old African American woman complained of visual loss in both eyes, but much worse in her left eye, where she could not count fingers for the past 2 weeks. She has suffered from headache for 4-6 months, treated as “sinusitis.” She has had occasional tinnitus and double vision. Sarcoid-pachymeningitis DIAGNOSIS • Summary ° Intracranial Hypertension ° Visual Loss from elev ICP ° Pachymeningitis • DX: Meningeal Sarcoidosis ° Pathophysiol: Decreased absorption at arachnoid granulations • Beware of papilledema “decreasing” because disc is developing atrophy. CONDITIONS MIMICKING PTC • Intracranial lesions - real tumor, abscess • Dural venous sinus outflow abnormality • Meningeal Sarcoidosis • Carcinomatous meningitis • Infections eg. Viral encephalitis • Hydrocephalus • GBS and spinal cord tumors with increased protein in CSF • Pseudopapilledema and headache Don’t be misled by migraines in a patient with pseudopapilledema [ONHDrusen] CAUSES OF PTC Obstructed intracranial venous drainage • Decreased absorption at arachnoid granulations ° scarring from meningitis or heme • Obstruction to venous drainage ° venous sinus thrombosis ° AVM →radical neck dissection ° middle ear or mastoid infection [Gradenigo] • Hypercoagulable state • Increased intraabdominal pressure- fat distribution Radical Neck dissection: jugular ligation CAUSES OF PTC Obstructed intracranial venous drainage • Decreased flow through arachnoid granulations ° scarring from meningitis or heme • Obstruction to venous drainage ° AVM ° venous sinus thrombosis ° radical neck dissection →middle ear or mastoid infection [Gradenigo] • hypercoagulable state • increased intraabdominal pressure - fat Transverse sinus Mastoiditis obstruction CAUSES OF PTC Obstructed intracranial venous drainage • Decreased flow through arachnoid granulations ° scarring from meningitis or heme • Obstruction to venous drainage ° bilateral radical neck dissection ° venous sinus thrombosis ° middle ear or mastoid infection [Gradenigo] ° hypercoagulable state →increased intraabdominal pressure Sugarman suggests bariatric surgery -- stomach stapling -- to enforce weight loss CAUSES OF PTC Endocrine/Metabolic Dysfunction • Obesity • Hypoparathyroidism • Adrenal insufficiency • Steroid withdrawal • Estrogen metabolism MEDICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PTC • Amiodarone • Antibiotics ° Nalidixic acid ° Penicillin ° Tetracycline, Minocycline, Doxycycline • Danazol • Lithium • Indomethacin • Steroid withdrawal UNASSOCIATED CONDITIONS same frequency as general population • Menarche • Irregular menses • Oral contraceptives • Pregnancy • Hyperthyroidism • Corticosteroid intake • Many drugs MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF PTC • Follow Vision ° VA, quantitative visual fields, RAPD ° fundus photos • Encourage Weight Loss [10%] • Decrease CSF production/Diuretics • Treat Headache • Treat depression ° Support Group 1-800-926-1230
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