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Forty patients(20 men,20 women)aged 16 to 40 years were identified. Hospital frequency was 7 per 100000 patients,and the relative frequency against arterial strokes was 1:62.5.Nineteen cases(47%)had a clinical picture of pseudotumor cerebri.Behcet's disease was the cause in 10 cases (25%).Other causes included antiphospholipid antibodies in 4,protein S deficiency in 3,intracranial tumors in 3,systemic lupus erythematosus in 3,infections in 3,antithrombin III deficiency in 2,postpartum in 1,and oral contraceptives in 1.Cerebral venous thrombosis in adults is not uncommon in Saudi Arabia.Behcet's disease is the single most common etiology.Infection is no longer an important cause,whereas"new"coagulation disorders are common.Patients with a pseudotumor cerebri syndrome should undergo angiography or brain MRI before being labeled idiopathic. |
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