03-03-2008, 08:24 PM
A 27-year-old woman comes to the physician
because of
increasingly severe daily headaches over the past 3
months. The headaches are
diffuse and often occur at the base of the skull. For
the past month,
she has had brief episodes of visual darkening when
standing. She has
been amenorrheic for the past year and has had an
18-kg (40-lb) weight
gain during this period. She now weighs 118 kg (260
lb) and is 152 cm
(60 in) tall. Funduscopic examination shows
papilledema, several flame
hemorrhages, and an enlarged blind spot bilaterally.
Visual acuity is
20/20 bilaterally. A CT scan of the head shows no
abnormalities. Which
of the following is the most likely underlying cause
of these findings?
A
) Cerebral venous occlusion
B
) Communicating hydrocephalus
C
) Cytotoxic edema
D
) Idiopathic intracranial hypertension
E
) Impaired absorption of cerebrospinal fluid
F
) Infratentorial mass lesion
G
) Interstitial edema
H
) Overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid
I
) Vasogenic edema
because of
increasingly severe daily headaches over the past 3
months. The headaches are
diffuse and often occur at the base of the skull. For
the past month,
she has had brief episodes of visual darkening when
standing. She has
been amenorrheic for the past year and has had an
18-kg (40-lb) weight
gain during this period. She now weighs 118 kg (260
lb) and is 152 cm
(60 in) tall. Funduscopic examination shows
papilledema, several flame
hemorrhages, and an enlarged blind spot bilaterally.
Visual acuity is
20/20 bilaterally. A CT scan of the head shows no
abnormalities. Which
of the following is the most likely underlying cause
of these findings?
A
) Cerebral venous occlusion
B
) Communicating hydrocephalus
C
) Cytotoxic edema
D
) Idiopathic intracranial hypertension
E
) Impaired absorption of cerebrospinal fluid
F
) Infratentorial mass lesion
G
) Interstitial edema
H
) Overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid
I
) Vasogenic edema