Familial benign intracranial hypertension and depression.

Two sisters developed benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) two weeks following the resolution of a major depressive episode. The association of BIH and a major affective disorder in genetically related individuals has not been previously reported to our knowledge. Both conditions are associated with disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Falling corticosteroid levels in a resolving depression may result in impaired cerebrospinal fluid absorption and subsequent BIH.