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Flammer syndrome.

  • Konieczka K Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Mittlere Strasse 91, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
  • Ritch R Einhorn Clinical Research Center, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10003, USA.
  • Traverso CE Clinica Oculistica, Di.N.O.G.M.I., University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy.
  • Kim DM Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
  • Kook MS Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ulsan, Seoul 680-749, Korea.
  • Gallino A Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Ospedale San Giovanni, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
  • Golubnitschaja O Department of Radiology, Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany.
  • Erb C Eye Clinic Wittenbergplatz, 10789 Berlin, Germany.
  • Reitsamer HA Department of Ophthalmology, SALK/Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.
  • Kida T Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka Medical College, Takatsuki 569-8686, Japan.
  • Kurysheva N Department of Diagnostic and Glaucoma, University of Medical and Biological Agency of the Russian Federation, 105077 Moscow, Russian Federation.
  • Yao K Eye Center of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China.
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  • 2014-07-31
Published in:
  • The EPMA journal. - 2014
Cold extremities
Flammer syndrome
Normal tension glaucoma
Optic disc hemorrhages
Predictive preventive personalized medicine
Primary vascular dysregulation
Retinal vein occlusion
Systemic hypotension
Tinnitus
Vasospasm
English The new term Flammer syndrome describes a phenotype characterized by the presence of primary vascular dysregulation together with a cluster of symptoms and signs that may occur in healthy people as well as people with disease. Typically, the blood vessels of the subjects with Flammer syndrome react differently to a number of stimuli, such as cold and physical or emotional stress. Nearly all organs, particularly the eye, can be involved. Although the syndrome has some advantages, such as protection against the development of atherosclerosis, Flammer syndrome also contributes to certain diseases, such as normal tension glaucoma. The syndrome occurs more often in women than in men, in slender people than in obese subjects, in people with indoor rather than outdoor jobs, and in academics than in blue collar workers. Affected subjects tend to have cold extremities, low blood pressure, prolonged sleep onset time, shifted circadian rhythm, reduced feeling of thirst, altered drug sensitivity, and increased general sensitivity, including pain sensitivity. The plasma level of endothelin-1 is slightly increased, and the gene expression in lymphocytes is changed. In the eye, the retinal vessels are stiffer and their spatial variability larger; the autoregulation of ocular blood flow is decreased. Glaucoma patients with Flammer syndrome have an increased frequency of the following: optic disc hemorrhages, activated retinal astrocytes, elevated retinal venous pressure, optic nerve compartmentalization, fluctuating diffuse visual field defects, and elevated oxidative stress. Further research should lead to a more concise definition, a precise diagnosis, and tools for recognizing people at risk. This may ultimately lead to more efficient and more personalized treatment.
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  • English
Open access status
hybrid
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/18153
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