Any disorder that affects the adrenal glands.
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pseudomeningocele
An abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that forms a pocket inside the cranium, just outside of the dura. Generally occurs as a complication of duraplasty (a common part of a Chiari Decompression surgery). While a small amount of fluid getting through the dura patch is normal after surgery, the body should absorb it and it should resolve within the first month or two. If it fails to reduce in size and resolve, that is a good indication that there is a cranial dura leak exists. A pseudomeningocele are most common amongst patients with an underlying connective tissue disorder (such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes) as their dural tissue is more fragile than that of the general population, they are more likely to have problems with the adherence of the patch, and they are more likely to have other comorbid conditions that can further complicate the healing process (such as Intracranial Hypertension, where the untreated high pressure can actually cause a cranial leak). Since the pseudomeningocele is inside the cranium, it can cause a “mass effect” that can raise intracranial pressure.
Symptoms of Intracranial Hypertension
HEADACHES:
- Positional Headache – Pressure headaches that are worse when laying down, and relieved from being upright. Patients often report falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night with a pressure headache.
- Headache that originates behind the eyes, or (often feeling much like a sinus headache)
NECK PROBLEMS:
- Neck pain/stiffness
- Interscapular (between the shoulder blades) pain/stiffness
EQUILIBRIUM/BALANCE PROBLEMS:
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
COGNITIVE PROBLEMS:
- Mild Aphasia (generally anomic or primary progressive)
- Memory problems (usually short term)
- Brain Fog
EYE/VISION PROBLEMS:
- Nystagmus
- Visual Obscuration in one or both eyes (generally associated with papilledema)
- Blurred vision
- Dimmed vision
- Double vision (diplopia from dysfunction of 6th cranial nerve)
- Poor or decreased peripheral vision
- Flickers/flashes of light (photopsia)
- Moments of occasional blindness
- Permanent blindness
EAR/HEARING PROBLEMS:
- Tinnitus/Pulsatile Tinnitus (ringing in the ears that often pulses in time with your heartbeat), change in hearing
OTHER PHYSICAL PROBLEMS:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Hormonal Problems (generally associated with Empty Sella Syndrome and it’s effect on the pituitary gland)
mass effect
The effect of any abnormal, space-occupying mass (such as a cranial cyst, tumor, or hydrocephalus) as it pushes and displaces the surrounding tissue.
