Visual snow syndrome: A clinical and phenotypical description of 1,100 cases.
- Puledda F From the Headache Group (F.P., P.J.G.), Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London; NIHR-Wellcome Trust King's Clinical Research Facility (F.P., P.J.G.), SLaM Biomedical Research Centre, King's College Hospital, London, UK; and Department of Neurology (C.S.), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland. francesca.puledda@kcl.ac.uk.
- Schankin C From the Headache Group (F.P., P.J.G.), Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London; NIHR-Wellcome Trust King's Clinical Research Facility (F.P., P.J.G.), SLaM Biomedical Research Centre, King's College Hospital, London, UK; and Department of Neurology (C.S.), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
- Goadsby PJ From the Headache Group (F.P., P.J.G.), Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London; NIHR-Wellcome Trust King's Clinical Research Facility (F.P., P.J.G.), SLaM Biomedical Research Centre, King's College Hospital, London, UK; and Department of Neurology (C.S.), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
- 2020-01-17
Published in:
- Neurology. - 2020
Adult
Afterimage
Comorbidity
Endophenotypes
Female
Hallucinogens
Humans
Latent Class Analysis
Male
Migraine Disorders
Migraine with Aura
Night Blindness
Perceptual Disorders
Photophobia
Prevalence
Severity of Illness Index
Syndrome
Tinnitus
Vision Disorders
Vision, Entoptic
Young Adult
English
OBJECTIVE
To validate the current criteria of visual snow and to describe its common phenotype using a substantial clinical database.
METHODS
We performed a web-based survey of patients with self-assessed visual snow (n = 1,104), with either the complete visual snow syndrome (n = 1,061) or visual snow without the syndrome (n = 43). We also describe a population of patients (n = 70) with possible hallucinogen persisting perception disorder who presented clinically with visual snow syndrome.
RESULTS
The visual snow population had an average age of 29 years and had no sex prevalence. The disorder usually started in early life, and ≈40% of patients had symptoms for as long as they could remember. The most commonly experienced static was black and white. Floaters, afterimages, and photophobia were the most reported additional visual symptoms. A latent class analysis showed that visual snow does not present with specific clinical endophenotypes. Severity can be classified by the amount of visual symptoms experienced. Migraine and tinnitus had a very high prevalence and were independently associated with a more severe presentation of the syndrome.
CONCLUSIONS
Clinical characteristics of visual snow did not differ from the previous cohort in the literature, supporting validity of the current criteria. Visual snow likely represents a clinical continuum, with different degrees of severity. On the severe end of the spectrum, it is more likely to present with its common comorbid conditions, migraine and tinnitus. Visual snow does not depend on the effect of psychotropic substances on the brain.
To validate the current criteria of visual snow and to describe its common phenotype using a substantial clinical database.
METHODS
We performed a web-based survey of patients with self-assessed visual snow (n = 1,104), with either the complete visual snow syndrome (n = 1,061) or visual snow without the syndrome (n = 43). We also describe a population of patients (n = 70) with possible hallucinogen persisting perception disorder who presented clinically with visual snow syndrome.
RESULTS
The visual snow population had an average age of 29 years and had no sex prevalence. The disorder usually started in early life, and ≈40% of patients had symptoms for as long as they could remember. The most commonly experienced static was black and white. Floaters, afterimages, and photophobia were the most reported additional visual symptoms. A latent class analysis showed that visual snow does not present with specific clinical endophenotypes. Severity can be classified by the amount of visual symptoms experienced. Migraine and tinnitus had a very high prevalence and were independently associated with a more severe presentation of the syndrome.
CONCLUSIONS
Clinical characteristics of visual snow did not differ from the previous cohort in the literature, supporting validity of the current criteria. Visual snow likely represents a clinical continuum, with different degrees of severity. On the severe end of the spectrum, it is more likely to present with its common comorbid conditions, migraine and tinnitus. Visual snow does not depend on the effect of psychotropic substances on the brain.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- hybrid
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008909
- PMID 31941797
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/178077
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