Mechanism of pseudotumor in Guillain-Barre syndrome
A. H. Ropper and A. Marmarou
A patient with pseudotumor cerebri and Guillain-Barre syndrome was studied
with serial measurements of pressure-volume index, CSF outflow resistance
(Ro), and CSF production rate. The results were comparable to findings in
previous cases of idiopathic pseudotumor. Although Ro was elevated and
progressively diminished as the pseudotumor syndrome improved, the extent
of elevation in Ro was inadequate to account for raised CSF pressure. These
results suggest an alternative explanation for pseudotumor based on raised
effective venous pressures at points of CSF outflow that are passively
reflected in raised CSF pressure. A parallel rise in vascular and CSF
pressure may also explain why patients with pseudotumor tolerate such high
intracranial pressures.
