Rusztyn Przemysław, Stańska Wiktoria, Torbus Anna, Maciejewicz Piotr
Students' Scientific Club, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
J Clin Med. 2023 Jun 6;12(12):3868. doi: 10.3390/jcm12123868.
Visual snow (VS) is a rare clinical entity in neuro-ophthalmology. It is described as the presence of flickering dots affecting the whole visual field, often compared by patients to snow or pixelated television static. Importantly, it can be an alarming symptom for many patients, lowering their quality of life. Our purpose is to increase awareness of this disease, because many healthcare professionals have difficulty identifying symptoms as the nature of the condition is subjective. In this review, we aimed to describe the updates in the etiology and treatment of visual snow. We searched for articles in English, presenting original data and published after December 2019. Different studies show inconsistent data. Neuroimaging studies found, among other things, hypermetabolism of the lingual gyrus, increased gray matter in different brain areas, and altered connectivity in visual pathways. However, these findings were not present in all patients. According to the literature, among the most effective drugs is lamotrigine. Unfortunately, it also carries a risk of worsening the symptoms. It is crucial to remember that VS can be worsened or induced by alcohol, recreational drugs, and certain medication. In terms of treatment, nonpharmacological approaches such as color filters and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation were also used.
Further studies are needed to understand the nature of VS fully. Even though the pathophysiology and effective treatment of the condition remains unknown, expanding the knowledge about visual snow can impact the comfort of patients.
视觉雪（VS）是神经眼科中一种罕见的临床病症。它被描述为影响整个视野的闪烁小点的存在，患者常将其比作雪花或像素化电视的静电干扰。重要的是，对许多患者来说，这可能是一个令人担忧的症状，会降低他们的生活质量。我们的目的是提高对这种疾病的认识，因为许多医疗专业人员难以识别症状，因为该病的性质是主观的。在本综述中，我们旨在描述视觉雪在病因和治疗方面的最新进展。我们检索了2019年12月以后发表的、呈现原始数据的英文文章。不同的研究显示的数据不一致。神经影像学研究发现，除其他外，舌回存在高代谢、不同脑区灰质增加以及视觉通路连接改变。然而，这些发现并非在所有患者中都存在。根据文献，最有效的药物之一是拉莫三嗪。不幸的是，它也有使症状恶化的风险。至关重要的是要记住，酒精、消遣性药物和某些药物可能会使VS恶化或诱发VS。在治疗方面，也使用了非药物方法，如彩色滤光片和重复经颅磁刺激。
需要进一步研究以充分了解VS的本质。尽管该病的病理生理学和有效治疗方法仍然未知，但扩大对视觉雪的认识可能会影响患者的舒适度。
