Presentation
This is what seems to happen in the majority of the patients in the present study. [n.neurology.org]
The condition is typically always present and can last years. The cause of visual snow is unclear. Those affected typically also have migraines. [dbpedia.org]
Significant ophthalmology findings were not present. Dr. [mdedge.com]
Case Report A 25-year-old female patient presented with a 2-year history of chronic migraine (CM) and VS. Since adolescence, she had suffered from episodic migraine progressing into CM at age 23. [practicalpainmanagement.com]
On April 3, Paul Domb, Co-founder, VSI, is presenting ‘The Brain’ - an abstract, 18” x 8” marble sculpture, on behalf of Váró, to Dr. Boyden for his work with the charity. [globenewswire.com]
Entire Body System
- Weakness
Most people are able to see this phenomenon in the sky, although it is rather weak, and many people do not notice it until asked to pay attention. The dots are highly conspicuous against a monochromatic blue background (~430 nm) instead of the sky. [en.wikipedia.org]
But even with all the support, I still couldn’t find the the solution to my constant shaking body that was weak and rapidly deteriorating. Now up to doctor number 5, I was seriously shitting myself as no-one could tell me what was going on. [meditsounds.com]
Stochastic resonance (SR) is a nonlinear phenomenon where the addition of noise can improve the signal-to-noise ratio, improving the ability to detect a weak stimulus, at least up to an optimal level of noise. [visualsnowman.com]
Exercise Exercise is a really important one, not just for your general health, but for healing your body in times of mental and physical weakness. [overtoaila.com]
Ears
- Tinnitus
References American Tinnitus Association Video: Visual Snow Syndrome in Relationship to Tinnitus Link Between Tinnitus and Visual Snow Link Between Tinnitus And Visual Snow On January 14, 2017 / Tinnitus, Visual Snow Syndrome [listen-2-life.com]
Manage Your Tinnitus Discover the proven tools and therapies that can minimize the burden of your tinnitus and improve your quality of life. [ata.org]
Tinnitus (2017), that 63% of patients with visual snow also have continuous bilateral tinnitus. We think this is likely an overestimate, as we are doubtful that tinnitus and visual phenomena have much overlap. [dizziness-and-balance.com]
We confirmed an association with tinnitus, but unprimed laypeople with visual snow syndrome are on average older than those seeking medical attention. © 2020 EAN. [physiciansweekly.com]
Tinnitus and migraine had a high prevalence: 75% of VSS participants reported tinnitus, 72% reported migraine, and 37% reported migraine with aura. These comorbidities were independently associated with a more severe presentation of the syndrome. [medpagetoday.com]
Eyes
- Photophobia
Shared pathways for visual snow and photophobia A biological basis has been suggested for migraine-related photophobia and visual snow. [theraspecs.com]
Photophobia/Light Sensitivity Photophobia (light sensitivity) is one of the additional symptoms in the clinical classification of Visual Snow Syndrome. [visualsnowman.com]
Photophobia Specialty Neurology, Psychiatry Photophobia is a symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light.[1] As a medical symptom photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to [en.wikipedia.org]
But it does appear to have a biological basis, given the hypermetabolism in the supplementary visual cortex overlaps similarly with occurrences of photophobia in migraine,3 the authors noted. [practicalpainmanagement.com]
Floaters, afterimages, and photophobia were the most reported additional visual symptoms. Tinnitus and migraine had a high prevalence: 75% of VSS participants reported tinnitus, 72% reported migraine, and 37% reported migraine with aura. [medpagetoday.com]
- Photopsia
Flashing lights (photopsia). Small "floaters" in the vision field (myodesopsia). Visual effects within the eye (entoptic phenomena). Images continue to appear after they are no longer visible (palinopsia). [nvisioncenters.com]
Migraine more often have palinopsia, spontaneous photopsia, photophobia, nyctalopia and tinnitus than those without comorbid migraine. Two other reasons support inclusion of A1.4.6 Visual snow in ICHD-3. [ichd-3.org]
At least one of the following: excessive floaters in both eyes, excessive blue field entoptic phenomenon, self-light of the eye, or spontaneous photopsia (Entoptic phenomena arise from the structure of the visual system itself. [rarediseases.org]
- Scotoma
[…] a scintillating scotoma aura with each dot or line flickering. [en.wikipedia.org]
- Scintillating Scotoma
[…] a scintillating scotoma aura with each dot or line flickering. [en.wikipedia.org]
These patients likely have migraine aura and have contributed to confusion over the syndrome This scintillating scotoma is not Visual Snow Our data suggest that ‘visual snow’ is a unique visual disturbance clinically distinct from migraine aura that can [visualsnowman.com]
- Night Blindness
As well as VS presenting as a static haze (much like an old out of tune television) across your vision, it can also look like: Dots or fuzziness across visual field Bright dots moving quickly Light sensitivity Floaters in the visual field Night blindness [optimax.co.uk]
Some of these symptoms include: Seeing an image despite it not being present any longer (palinopsia) Intolerance or sensitivity to bright light (photophobia) Difficulty seeing at night or night blindness (nyctalopia) Floaters, aura or other visual disturbances [theraspecs.com]
Blindness Left: normal vision and nightime scene, Right: how somebody with Visual Snow and Nyctalopia may see during the same scene Those with Visual Snow and nyctalopia may struggle to see during the night and can almost be blind under certain light [visualsnowman.com]
They may experience sensitivity to light, sometimes severe, and night blindness. These difficulties can lead the patient to become socially withdrawn and isolated which does not help if they are experiencing depression. [axonoptics.com]
Psychiatrical
- Suggestibility
RECENT FINDINGS Clinical characterization of visual snow syndrome is evolving, including a suggested modification of diagnostic criteria. [zora.uzh.ch]
They suggest that visual snow, like migraine, is a disorder of sensory processing in which the brain's filtering mechanisms become dysfunctional. [medscape.com]
The smell sensitivity is particularly suggestive of migraine (Kelman, 2004). His visual snow largely vanished after adding magnesium supplements to his regimen. Magnesium is generally safe, and helps in stabilizing neural circuits. [dizziness-and-balance.com]
A TCD is suggested to arise from the excess inhibition of thalamic neurons and inhibitory asymmetry in cortical areas. [visualsnowman.com]
This suggests an MRI at higher than 3.0T will be required. A 7T or 9T MRI capable of fitting over the head only will probably be required. [neuronresearch.net]
- Depersonalization
Symptoms such as depersonalization and derealization may be classified as afferent/efferent mismatch of perception of person. Finally, there appear to be several triggers reported by individual patients. [frontiersin.org]
[…] visual static, aeropsia Animated example of visual snow-like noise Specialty Neurology, Neuro-ophthalmology Symptoms Static and auras in vision, Palinopsia, Blue field entoptic phenomenon, Photophobia, Nyctalopia Complications Poor quality of vision, Depersonalization [en.wikipedia.org]
VSS also affects some patients non-visually, causing ringing, humming, or buzzing, depersonalization, debilitating migraines, and more. The symptoms do not go away. “It’s challenging to do everyday tasks,” said Domb. [news.miami.edu]
In addition to visual symptoms, patients often also report tinnitus, migraine, migraine with aura, brain fog, paraesthesia (tingling skin), fine tremors, and depersonalization. [matthewrenze.com]
- Anxiety Disorder
[…] attributed to social anxiety disorder (social phobia) A12.8 Headache attributed to generalized anxiety disorder A12.9 Headache attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) A1.4.6 Visual snow Diagnostic criteria: Dynamic, continuous, tiny dots [ichd-3.org]
I found diet and regular exercise have helped me cure my anxiety disorder and improve my VS symptoms. [meditsounds.com]
Neural temporal dynamics of stress in comorbid major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Biol Mood Anxiety Disord. 2012 Jun 22;2:11. 1. Schankin CJ. The relation between migraine, typical migraine aura and "visual snow". [slideshare.net]
Validation and standardization of the generalized anxiety disorder screener (GAD-7) in the general population. Med Care 2008 ; 46 : 266 – 74. Luna S, Lai D, Harris A. [academic.oup.com]
Neurologic
- Aura
Persistent Migraine Aura and Visual Snow? - Headache and Migraine News We’ve talked a lot about migraine aura – especially visual aura – here in the past. [pinterest.ca]
But is this visual phenomenon migraine aura? Dr. Schankin and colleagues sought to investigate and further characterize this syndrome. [mdedge.com]
The relation between migraine, typical migraine aura and visual snow. [slideshare.net]
Persisting visual snow can feature as a leading addition to a migraine complication called persistent aura without infarction,[14] commonly referred to as persistent migraine aura (PMA). [en.wikipedia.org]
- Headache
Headache attributed to psychiatric disorder A12.3 Headache attributed to depressive disorder A12.4 Headache attributed to separation anxiety disorder A12.5 Headache attributed to panic disorder A12.6 Headache attributed to specific phobia A12.7 Headache [ichd-3.org]
Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2018;38(1):1-211. 5. Boulloche N, Denuelle M, Payoux P, Fabre N, Trotter Y, Géraud G. [jamanetwork.com]
Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia 2018; 38: 1–211. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals 2. [journals.sagepub.com]
Safety and patients' satisfaction of transcutaneous supraorbital neurostimulation (tSNS) with the Cefaly device in headache treatment: A survey of 2,313 headache sufferers in the general population. J Headache Pain. 2013;14:95. [practicalpainmanagement.com]
The 40 patients with late-onset visual snow were asked whether they had had headaches during the week of onset, and 33% said that they had had a headache, while 10% had a visual aura. [mdedge.com]
- Excitement
The underlying mechanism is believed to involve excessive excitability of neurons in the right lingual gyrus and left cerebellar anterior lobe of the brain. [dbpedia.org]
The supposed mechanism is excessive activity or excitability of the cerebral cortex neurons that including the thalamic reticular nucleus, Parietal lobe and pre frontal lobe. There is no cure for this syndrome until now(2,3,4). [biocoreopen.org]
[…] whole of their visual fields.[7][4] The condition is typically always present and can last years.[10] The cause of visual snow is unclear.[3] Those affected typically also have migraines.[7][4] The underlying mechanism is believed to involve excessive excitability [en.wikipedia.org]
[…] in primary visual cortex;" Yildiz et al (2019) reported that "The loss of habituation and lower threshold for occipital cortex excitability were demonstrated electrophysiologically in VS patients. " White et al (2018) opined that "VSS is likely associated [dizziness-and-balance.com]
- Seizure
It is important because it makes it clear where the alteration causing the seizure is located. [en.wikipedia.org]
Medications that are known to have been prescribed are: Anti-seizure medication Glaucoma medication Blood pressure medication Migraine prevention medications Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and aspirin A positive step for the visual snow community [optimax.co.uk]
Mood-stabilizing medications are often used to treat bipolar disorder and to control seizures. Lamotrigine has shown some ability in helping to manage and improve symptoms of visual snow. [nvisioncenters.com]
- Dizziness
[…] clarification of VSS • Analysis of individual symptoms such as nyctalopia, photophobia, and palinopsia • Analysis of the associated features such as depersonalization, derealization • Elucidation of associated syndromes such as persistent perceptual postural dizziness [frontiersin.org]
Chicago dizziness and hearing evaluates and treats patients with visual snow in our "visual vertigo" clinic. [dizziness-and-balance.com]
Persistence of a visual image despite it being removed from the field of vision Sensitivity to light (photophobia) Non-Visual Symptoms There can also be other symptoms that aren't visual, including: Migraines Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Vertigo (feeling dizzy [verywellhealth.com]
I felt physically exhausted, dizzy and nauseas constantly, and no amount of rest or medication helped. [overtoaila.com]
[…] these symptoms include: Seeing an image despite it not being present any longer (palinopsia) Intolerance or sensitivity to bright light (photophobia) Difficulty seeing at night or night blindness (nyctalopia) Floaters, aura or other visual disturbances Dizziness [theraspecs.com]
Workup
An extensive workup was conducted, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the brain, magnetic resonance angiogram/venography (MRA/MRV) on the head, a computed tomography of the sinus, gallium scan, lumbar puncture, as well as ENT, ophthalmology [practicalpainmanagement.com]
Treatment
There is no real established treatment for visual snow which has proven to be incredibly effective. [seevividly.com]
Treatment Treatment for visual snow can be broken down into ocular interventions and medicine. Ocular interventions(Optometric treatments) to improve quality of life in patients with visual snow include tinted lenses and optometric vision therapy. [dizziness-and-balance.com]
Treatments for Visual Snow Syndrome Visual snow syndrome is not a disease that will just go away on its own. The visual disturbances are unlikely to just get better without treatment, which typically involves medications. [nvisioncenters.com]
Visual Snow Syndrome: A Case Report and New Treatment Option. Clinical Medical Reviews and Case Reports. December 31, 2018;5(12):246. doi:10.23937/2378-3656/1410246. [verywellhealth.com]
Etiology
Summary: When seeing a patient with visual snow, it is important to rule out a possible underlying secondary etiology. [experts.umn.edu]
Visual snow syndrome is a fascinating phenomenon of unknown neurological etiology. Although many clinicians have never even heard of it or consider it rare, my experience suggests it is more common than previously thought. [healio.com]
Visual Snow Syndrome: Proposed Criteria, Clinical Implications, and Pathophysiology (2018) Etiology As far as etiology (cause) is concerned there has been little research to date which has attempted to connect possible causes to pathophysiology. [visualsnowman.com]
Summary When seeing a patient with visual snow, it is important to rule out a possible underlying secondary etiology. [springermedizin.de]
Martinotti G, Santacroce R, Pettorruso M et al (2018) Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder: Etiology, clinical features, and therapeutic perspectives. [link.springer.com]
Epidemiology
Two recently published papers report on the largest studies of visual snow to date, which provide new insights into the clinical features and epidemiology of this condition. [nature.com]
It may not per se be part of the migraine spectrum but appears to be epidemiologically associated with 1.2 Migraine with aura. [ichd-3.org]
Pathophysiology
Its pathophysiology remains elusive. This review highlights the visual snow literature focusing on recent clinical studies that add to our understanding of its clinical picture, pathophysiology, and treatment. [zora.uzh.ch]
Migraine Pathophysiology Persistent aura Persistent positive visual phenomena Visual aura Visual snow Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Visual Snow Syndrome: Proposed Criteria, Clinical Implications, and Pathophysiology'. [experts.umn.edu]
Jul 11, 2020 Insights into pathophysiology and treatment of visual snow syndrome: A systematic review Jun 15, 2020 Visual Snow Case Series: Review of 248 Cases with Attention to Underlying Causes or Inciting Events [PDF] Jun 13, 2020 Noninvasive Vagal [visualsnowtreatmentreport.com]
We also discuss the theories on the pathophysiological mechanisms of visual snow, as well as the current approach to treatment. [pinterest.ca]
Prevention
"Failure of calcium channel blockade to prevent intra-abdominal adhesions in ponies". Veterinary Surgery. 22 (6): 496–500. doi:10.1111/j.1532-950X.1993.tb00427.x. [en.wikipedia.org]
Most people with visual snow syndrome have normal vision tests and normal brain structure on imaging studies.[2][3] Last updated: 8/13/2020 Treatment Treatment Treatment for visual snow syndrome is focused on managing the symptoms and preventing migraines [rarediseases.info.nih.gov]
They change blood flow to the brain to prevent migraines. Other treatments, especially for those with light sensitivity, could include wearing sunglasses inside and outside. [thestar.com]