Diagnosing Pressure Headaches vs. CSF Leaks
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Key Questions
- Why is low-pressure headache misdiagnosed as chronic migraine?
- What is postural headache?
- What exactly is cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)?
- What are high- and low-pressure headaches?
- What are the risk factors for high- and low-pressure headaches?
- What are the symptoms of high-pressure headache (pseudotumor cerebri or idiopathic intracranial hypertension)?
- What is papilledema and how is it used to diagnose high-pressure headache?
- What is a spinal tap?
- How is high-pressure headache treated?
- What is low-pressure headache (spontaneous intracranial hypotension, or SIH)?
- What are the treatments for low pressure, or SIH?
Interview Notes
Find more about Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH, FAAN and her work here:
Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHS
Neuro-Ophthalmologist & Headache Specialist
Yellow Rose Headache & Neuro-Ophthalmology
Dr. Deborah Friedman is a neurologist specializing in headache medicine and neuro-ophthalmology. She practices at Yellow Rose Headache and Neuro-Ophthalmology in Dallas.
Dr. Friedman was the founding director of the Headache and Facial Pain Program and the Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is board certified in neurology and headache medicine. Additionally, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Headache Society (AHS), the American Neurological Association, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS).
She served on the board of directors for the AHS, is the president-elect for the Southern Headache Society, is a past president of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), and is on the steering committee for the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) Treatment Trial, which represents the largest prospectively analyzed cohort of untreated patients with IIH. She has published over 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 27 book chapters. Her key interests are intracranial pressure disorders, migraine, and cluster headache.
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