Periorbital venous vasculitis, intracranial hypertension and empty sella.

Sixteen patients with chronic periorbital venous vasculitis without nerve involvement and 9 patients with active episodic cluster headache were studied as to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure. Eighty-one percent of the patients with chronic and 33% with episodic symptoms had pathologically increased CSF pressure. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brains in the chronic group showed empty sella in 60%, cerebral atrophy in 21% and white matter lesions with high signal intensity on T2 weighted sequences in 29%. Abnormal obesity was found in 31% of the patients with chronic periorbital venous vasculitis under 60 years of age. Venous vasculitis is suggested as a cause of intracranial hypertension, empty sella, and endocrinologic dysfunctions.