Meningeal biopsy in intracranial hypotension: meningeal enhancement on MRI

Abstract

Intracranial hypotension is a cause of diffuse enhancement of the pachymeninx with gadolinium, which often is associated with subdural fluid collections. We reviewed the results of meningeal biopsy in six patients with intracranial hypotension and diffuse pachymeningeal enhancement to correlate the MRI findings with histopathologic observations and to explain the abnormalities seen on MRI. Grossly, the dura mater was unremarkable in all patients, as were the leptomeninges, except for one patient with prolonged (18 months) intracranial hypotension in whom the arachnoid was thickened and opaque. Microscopically, the dura mater was entirely normal on its epidural aspect; however, a fairly thin zone of fibroblasts and thin-walled small blood vessels in an amorphous matrix was noted on the subdural aspect. In the patient with longstanding symptoms, diffuse benign arachnoidal cell proliferation was also noted, probably a reaction triggered by longstanding changes in the subdural area, as noted in the five other patients. There was no evidence of inflammation, infection, or metastatic neoplasia. These findings suggest that in intracranial hypotension, the dural-meningeal abnormalities probably represent reactive secondary phenomena, likely related to hydrostatic changes in the CSF, and not a primary meningeal process.