I read the article by Mollan et al.1 regarding weight loss and intracranial hypertension (IH) with interest. Gastric bypass results in decreased dicarbonyl stress (DS).2 DS-related compounds, such as methylgloxal, are associated with the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier,3 as seen in IH through the glycation of biomolecules and the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs).3,4 Inhibiting semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase, which causes DS, with caffeine may lead to decreased weight gain and AGEs.5
Rapid weight loss through gastric surgery may alleviate the complications of IH; however, fenestration of the optic nerve sheath to avoid visual loss should be considered when there is progressive visual loss. Medical management of obesity may have more application in the future with continued progress in this field.
Footnotes
Author disclosures are available upon request (journal@neurology.org).
References
- 1.Mollan SP, Mitchell JL, Yiangou A, et al. Association of amount of weight lost after bariatric surgery with intracranial pressure in women with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Neurology. 2022;99(11):e1090-e1099. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200839. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Maessen DE, Hanssen NM, Lips MA, et al. Energy restriction and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass reduce postprandial α-dicarbonyl stress in obese women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2016;59(9):2013-2017. doi: 10.1007/s00125-016-4009-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Lissner LJ, Wartchow KM, Rodrigues L, et al. Acute methylglyoxal-induced damage in blood-brain barrier and hippocampal tissue. Neurotox Res. 2022;40(5):1337-1347. doi: 10.1007/s12640-022-00571-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Hasan-Olive MM, Hansson HA, Enger R, Nagelhus EA, Eide PK. Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in idiopathic intracranial hypertension. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2019;78(9):808-818. doi: 10.1093/jnen/nlz063. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Papukashvili D, Rcheulishvili N, Deng Y. Attenuation of weight gain and prevention of associated pathologies by inhibiting SSAO [published correction appears in Nutrients. 2020;12(7):1968]. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):184. doi: 10.3390/nu12010184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
