The Mirena IUD may increase the chances of developing pseudotumor cerebri creating a potential new cause of action. Certain plaintiffs in a 2014 suit regarding the Mirena IUD even asked to have their pseudotumor cerebri claims separated into a unique class.
The request was denied based on there not being enough pseudotumor cerebri claims to warrant a separation. Those cases remain with the original class. That case is pending in federal court in New Jersey and is focused on the Mirena IUD perforating the uterus and migrating through the abdomen.
The condition has symptoms that match what one would find in patients with a brain tumor only with pseudomotor cerbri there isn’t an actual tumor. Other names for it include intracranial hypertension or benign intracranial hypertension. While the exact cause is currently unknown, the symptoms are brought on by excess cerebrospinal fluid.
Symptoms include:
- Daily or near-daily headache with or without nausea
- Obscuration (grey spots, dimming or blackout of vision)
- Diplopia (double vision)
- Tinnitus
Exertion makes the symptoms worse. Diagnosis is typically done via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or spinal tap. Treatments vary from medication to a surgically implanted shunt that drains the excess fluid from the brain. If pseudotumor cerebri is untreated, it can progress to optic nerve complications causing blindness.
Data show that some birth control medications increase the risk of developing pseudotumor cerebri. Pills, implantable devices and IUDs, such as Mirena’s, are the usual suspects. The claims rise under products liability/failure to warn and include allegations that, but for the misleading labeling and marketing, plaintiffs would not have used the product.
Other products on the watch list include:
- Yaz
- Yasmin
- Beyaz
- Ocella
- Mirena IUD
- Depo-Provera
- Gardasil
- Implanon
- Nexplanon
- NuvaRing
- Ortho Evra
- ParaGard
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