Histogram analysis of optic nerve mri in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of optic nerve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) histogram analysis in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and to evaluate the feasibility of this method as a non-invasive diagnostic tool. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 100 patients diagnosed with IIH and 100 healthy controls who presented to the Neurology Clinic of Harran University Faculty of Medicine with headache complaints between January 2018 and July 2023. All participants underwent brain MRI, and optic nerve images were retrospectively analyzed. Optic nerve segmentation was performed on coronal T2-weighted images, and histogram analyses were conducted using LIFEx software. Statistical significance was assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test, with p<0.05 considered significant. Results No significant differences were observed between the IIH and control groups in terms of age and body mass index (BMI) (p>0.05). Histogram analysis revealed that INTENSITY-BASED_IntensityVariance, GLCM_DifferenceAverage, and GLRLM_RunLengthNonUniformity parameters showed statistically significant differences in the IIH group (p<0.05). Among these, INTENSITY-BASED_IntensityVariance demonstrated notable significance. These findings suggest that histogram analysis could serve as a non-invasive method for supporting IIH diagnosis. Conclusion Optic nerve MRI histogram analysis presents a promising approach for distinguishing IIH patients through significant quantitative parameters. This technique could complement clinical practice as a supportive diagnostic tool. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to validate its efficacy and expand its clinical application.