Topiramate treatment and case of idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (iih) is a syndrome characterized by symptoms and signs of increased intracranial pressure without a structural lesion like intracranial space occupying lesion, meningeal inflamation and venous occlusion. in these patients neurologic examination is normal without sixth cranial nerve paralysis. also, cranial imaging studies reveal normal or smaller ventricules and cerebrospinal fluid (csf) examinations are in normal levels. the cause of iih is unclear and as such it remains a diagnosis of exclusion. ihh usually occurs in young women; the female/male ratio changes between 4.3/1 and 8/1. beginning age of iih changes between 11 and 58 years old in different studies and mean beginning age is reported to be 30 years. female sex and obesity are major risk factors for iih. the effect of extended antidepressant treatment on weight has been poorly investigated. also unknown is whether different compounds have differential effects. it was reported that clomipramine was associated with the highest weight increase and fluoxetine and sertraline with the lowest. in this case, we aimed to report a patient with increased headache and accompanying tinnitus, photophonophobia and intermittent visual blurring symptoms who gained weight fast after antidepressant usage.