Neuron-specific enolase levels as a marker for possible neuronal damage in idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Although formerly considered as a “benign” disease, the presence of some important problems such as vision loss, resistance to appropriate medical treatment and relapses suggests that neuronal damage might play a role in the pathophysiology of IIH. In order to demonstrate possible neuronal damage/dysfunction participating in IIH pathophysiology, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels and clinical features in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Thirty-six patients with IIH, diagnosed according to the revised criteria, and 40 age, gender and body mass index-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study after their consent. Serum samples were evaluated for NSE via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. NSE levels were higher in the IIH group (23.7 ± 14.53 ng/ml) compared to the control group (22.7 ± 13.11 ng/ml), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.824). There were also no statistically significant differences in NSE levels in IIH patients regarding the presence of visual loss, relapse, oligoclonal bands and papilledema. We could not demonstrate any correlations between NSE levels and age, body mass index, cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure and disease duration. The present study is the first to analyze NSE levels in IIH patients and showed no significant difference between patients and controls, and also between different clinical subgroups of IIH patients.