Aspectos oftalmológicos da síndrome da hipertens？o intracraniana idiopática (pseudotumor cerebral)

pseudotumor cerebri is a syndrome of increased intra-cranial pressure without a space-occupying lesion or ventriculomegaly in a patient with normal level of conscience and normal cerebrospinal fluid constitution. the terminology for the disorder has changed over the years in accordance with advances in diagnostic technology and insights into the disease process. when no secondary cause is identified, the syndrome is termed idiopathic intracranial hypertension. patients are not uncommonly seen by ophthamologists since they present with papiledema, double vision and visual loss, a frequently severe and irreversible complication. in this paper we review the diagnostic criteria and the ophthalmic manifestations of this condition. we also emphasize the importance of the ophthalmlogist in the diagnosis and monitoring of visual function during the medical treatment of this condition as well as in the in the event of surgical treatment performed using optic nerve sheath decompression.