Chronic intracranial hypertension due to a tumor of the sinus wall: MRI and angiography

Abstract

Chronic benign intracranial hypertension may have a variety of causes. Most frequent is this syndrome found in obese young women ('pseudotumor cerebri'), still of unknown etiology. However, venous congestion due to sinus occlusion has to be ruled out. We report a young woman with an intrasinusal meningioma of the transverse sinus and hypoplasia of the transverse sinus contralaterally. Diagnosis was achieved by MRI and angiography. Imaging signs of increased intracranial pressure comprised dilated perioptic sheaths and an empty sella. Abnormalities of the brain parenchyma or the CSF spaces were absent