Ocular Perfusion in Patients With Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a neuroophthalmological disease, characterized by an increased intracranial pressure (ICP) without an identifiable causative factor. If not properly treated and carefully monitored the disease can even lead to irreversible severe or complete loss of vision or severe irreversible visual field defects, respectively. Given this clinical urgency, precise diagnostic tools become essential for timely decision making. Laser Speckle Flowgraphy (LSFG) is a non-invasive, in-vivo imaging method, which quantitatively estimates blood flow in the optic nerve head, the choroid, the retina and the iris. LSFG has a low procedural complexity, obtains precise and reproducible measurements and is therefore suitable to assess ocular perfusion. The proposed study aims to evaluate optic nerve head blood flow and microcirculation in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. For this purpose, optic nerve head blood flow will be examined in patients with IIH before and after therapy and additionally compared with healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects. In addition, other parameters will be measured, in particular retinal blood flow, retinal oxygen saturation and retinal neurovascular coupling.