Mirena pseudotumor lawsuits may be gearing up, although the average person does not know what pseudotumor cerebri is.

Pseudotumor cerebri is a dangerous buildup in cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The brain produces a liquid called cerebrospinal fluid to help support and protect the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid also helps regulate blood flow to the brain. However, certain conditions can interfere with the body’s ability to balance producing and reabsorbing cerebrospinal fluid, leading to a dangerous buildup. This fluid can put pressure on the brain, optic nerves and eyes, a condition called pseudotumor cerebri.

When a patient experiences pseudotumor cerebri, the symptoms closely resemble a brain tumor. In fact, “pseudotumor cerebri” literally means “fake brain tumor” or “false brain tumor” in Latin. Like a real brain tumor, patients may experience head pain from the buildup of pressure in their skull. This can cause various problems with vision due to pressure on the optic nerve. Vision problems from pseudotumor cerebri can include blurred vision, tunnel vision, visual blackouts, and even lasting blindness.

Pseudotumor cerebri can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. Many cases are “idiopathic,” medical jargon for “without an apparent cause.” It is known that injury, disease, and illness may cause pseudotumor cerebri. Now, evidence has begun to surface that the birth control implant Mirena may make a patient more likely to develop pseudotumor cerebri. This has led to a growing number of pseudotumor cerebri lawsuits.

Mirena Pseudotumor Cerebri Litigation

There has been a minor snag in the Mirena pseudotumor lawsuits. Back in September of 2014, a motion to consolidate Mirena pseudotumor cerebri lawsuits was denied. When the court system faces a wide number of similar lawsuits, the legal system can invoke a process called a multidistrict litigation or MDL. In MDLs, the legal system coordinates similar lawsuits together to avoid wasting resources on duplication of efforts.

Mirena lawsuits making accusations that the birth control IUD can cause different complications have already been grouped into an MDL. But in that same month, the courts ruled that there were not yet enough Mirena pseudotumor lawsuits to create a Mirena pseudotumor cerebri MDL. However, this is not a showstopper. Sometimes medical device lawsuits have false starts like this. Within the last few years, an MDL was formed over allegations that Lipitor could cause diabetes—after a first attempt at consolidation failed for similar reasons to the Mirena pseudotumor cerebri lawsuits.

Mirena pseudotumor cerebri lawsuits typically allege that Bayer, the makers of Mirena, were aware of the risk of pseudotumor cerebri and failed to adequately warn and protect the public.