English abstract
The first report of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) was
by Quinche in 1893. Throughout history it has had many names.
When I was a child growing up, before we had antibiotic therapy,
middle ear infections occasionally would trigger intracranial
inflammation and the disease was called Otitic Hydrocephalus.
Then it was called Benign Intracranial Hypertension which we
now know is far from benign. In 1931 Symonds was the first
to suggest that it was caused by dural sinus obstruction. Loss of
vision or field is not uncommon in untreated cases. We now use
the term Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension to express our
ignorance about the cause and mechanism of the disease. Some
cases are related to causes that we can identify and correct. These
include Vitamin A, Tetrcycline, Lithium and Corticosteroids.
The mechanism of these are not fully understood but their causal
relationship is historically known. Many cases still fall into the
unknown cause category.
