Papilledema. Neuroradiologic evaluation of optic disc protrusion

Patients presenting with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and papilledema in reality harbor a large degree of simple optic disc protrusion. Evaluations with dynamic CT demonstrate that there is depressed perfusion of the optic papilla in severe increased ICP in subjects with papilledema/protrusion as opposed to normal patients. This supports the theory that increased ICP leads to blindness by the mechanism of an increased pressure gradient at the optic nerve head resulting in ischemia and irreversible optic nerve atrophy.