An osteopathic physician in the U.S.A is undertaking clinical trails to test the effectiveness of a commonly used diuretic against a rare but increasingly common disease that can cause blindness.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, known as IIH or pseudo-tumor cerebri is a neurological disease, which strikes overweight, younger women. The cause of the endocrine-based disease is unknown. While IIH currently only affects 22 out of every 100,000 Americans, its incidence rate is rising in parallel with the obesity epidemic.
The disease results in increased pressure around the brain, specifically in the absence of a tumour. Symptoms include severe headaches, nausea and double vision. If left untreated, IIH can lead to vision loss and blindness.
Eric Eggenberger, professor and associate chairperson at Michigan State University’s (MSU) Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology, is leading the clinical trial which has three main goals: establish evidence-based treatment strategies to restore and protect vision, follow patients for up to four years to observe long-term treatment outcomes and help determine the cause of IIH.
He will test the ability of the diuretic acetazolamide to reduce or reverse vision loss in patients with IIH, analyse the potential side effects of drugs such as acetazolamide and look at Vitamin A and genes as risk factors to IIH.
