Evaluating Raised Intracranial Pressure Using MR Elastography

March 2, 2026 updated by: John J Chen, Mayo Clinic
Investigators will compare magnetic resonance (MR) elastography measurements to other forms of noninvasive methods of detecting raised intracranial pressure, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging measurements of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and indirect signs of raised intracranial pressure on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The goal of this study is to evaluate the brain elasticity in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and other forms of raised intracranial pressure, such as obstructive hydrocephalus. Investigators will evaluate for a correlation between brain stiffness and opening pressure on lumbar puncture. Investigators will also evaluate for changes in brain stiffness after interventions that are aimed at lowering intracranial pressure, including lumbar punctures, medications, and surgical interventions, such as ventriculoperitoneal shunts. Lastly, investigators will compare MR elastography measurements to other forms of noninvasive methods of detecting raised intracranial pressure, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and indirect signs of raised intracranial pressure on MRI.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

All subjects will have the following inclusion criteria:

  • Group 1: Papilledema from idiopathic intracranial hypertension and other forms of elevated intracranial pressure, including obstructive hydrocephalus
  • Group 2: Patients without raised intracranial pressure.

All subjects will have the following exclusion criteria:

  • Age <18
  • Pregnancy (self-reported)
  • Individuals for whom MR is contraindicated

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Patients with increased intracranial hypertension
Patients will receive the MR elastography, MRI structural brain imaging, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging, Optic nerve B-scan ultrasound and Lumbar puncture.
Diagnostic test: MR elastography
MR elastography image acquisition will be conducted on the Compact 3T MRI scanner using a modified single-shot spin-echo echo-planar imaging pulse sequence.
Diagnostic test: MRI structural brain imaging
MRI structural brain imaging will be done on the Compact 3T MRI at the same time as MR elastography.
Procedure: Lumbar puncture
All patients with papilledema will get lumbar punctures with opening pressure as part of their work-up for papilledema. A small number of patients without increased intracranial pressure will receive a lumbar puncture.
Diagnostic test: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging will measure the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements The images with enhanced depth imaging will be obtained to measure the Bruch's membrane orientation.
Diagnostic test: Optic nerve B-scan ultrasound
Ultrasound will be used to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter 3 mm posterior to the posterior scleral surface.
Experimental: Patient without raised intracranial hypertension
Patients will receive the MR elastography, MRI structural brain imaging, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging, and Optic nerve B-scan ultrasound. Some patients will receive lumbar punctures.
Diagnostic test: MR elastography
MR elastography image acquisition will be conducted on the Compact 3T MRI scanner using a modified single-shot spin-echo echo-planar imaging pulse sequence.
Diagnostic test: MRI structural brain imaging
MRI structural brain imaging will be done on the Compact 3T MRI at the same time as MR elastography.
Diagnostic test: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging will measure the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements The images with enhanced depth imaging will be obtained to measure the Bruch's membrane orientation.
Diagnostic test: Optic nerve B-scan ultrasound
Ultrasound will be used to measure the optic nerve sheath diameter 3 mm posterior to the posterior scleral surface.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MR elastography measurement of the brain elasticity
Time Frame: 1-2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
The primary outcome measure is the difference in the brain elasticity on MR elastography between patients with raised intracranial pressure and those with normal intracranial pressure
1-2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MRI finding
Time Frame: 1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
The secondary outcome measurement are the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and Bruch's membrane configuration on the MRI findings of raised intracranial pressure (optic nerve sheath diameter and pituitary/sella ratio). The cutoff from abnormal-to-normal will be established. The sensitivity and specificities will be established and compared against the other secondary outcome measurements and against MR elastography.
1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) finding
Time Frame: 1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
The secondary outcome measurements are the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and Bruch's membrane configuration using ocular coherence tomography (OCT) of raised intracranial pressure (optic nerve sheath diameter and pituitary/sella ratio). The cutoff from abnormal-to-normal will be established. The sensitivity and specificities will be established and compared against the other secondary outcome measurements and against MR elastography
1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
Optic Nerve B-scan ultrasound finding
Time Frame: 1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture
The secondary outcome measurement are the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and Bruch's membrane configuration on the optic nerve B-scan ultrasound findings of raised intracranial pressure (optic nerve sheath diameter and pituitary/sella ratio). The cutoff from abnormal-to-normal will be established. The sensitivity and specificities will be established and compared against the other secondary outcome measurements and against MR elastography.
1--2 weeks prior to lumbar puncture

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Mayo Clinic

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Eye Institute (NEI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: John J Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 10, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2031

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 15, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 24, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 30, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 2, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 16-007037
  • 5U10EY025990-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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