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Abstract
Objective Case description of recurrent idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in a transgender man on gender-affirming hormone therapy.
Methods Case report.
Results A 24-year-old transmasculine patient (assigned female at birth), with a body mass index (BMI) of 37.3, presented with headaches, transient visual obscurations (TVOs), pulsatile tinnitus, Frisén 5 papilledema, and scotomas. He was diagnosed with IIH after normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venogram (MRV), an elevated opening pressure of 27 cm water, and normal cerebrospinal fluid studies. IIH resolved with acetazolamide and optic nerve sheath fenestration (ONSF). He then started gender-affirming testosterone therapy and was on this for 20 months when his headaches, pulsatile tinnitus, TVOs, and Frisén 3 papilledema recurred at a BMI of 31. Brain MRI and MRV were normal. Opening pressure was elevated at 31 cm. water. Acetazolamide 4 g/day did not improve the papilledema, thus a left ONSF was repeated resulting in eventual resolution of the IIH.
Discussion Several reports have been published of IIH development in patients receiving testosterone therapy. Hormone prescribers for gender affirmation may wish to screen for visual loss and optic nerve edema in patients undergoing testosterone therapy, which may also stimulate appetite weight gain.
Footnotes
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/cp.
↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Submitted and externally peer reviewed. The editors were former Deputy Editor Elaine Jones, MD, FAAN, and current Deputy Editor Kathryn Kvam, MD.
Editorial, page 187
- Received June 28, 2021.
- Accepted March 23, 2022.
- © 2022 American Academy of Neurology
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