Visual snow syndrome: a comparison between an Italian and British population

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neurology
• Clinical Phenotyping

Background:

• Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is characterized by persistent, static-like visual disturbances.
• Diagnosis requires additional symptoms like palinopsia, photophobia, or entoptic phenomena.
• Previous research has not extensively compared VSS phenotypes across different nationalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical phenotype of visual snow syndrome (VSS) in Italian and British populations.
• To investigate potential geographical variations in VSS presentation.
• To assess the comorbidity of migraine in VSS patients across these two distinct groups.

Main Methods:

• A clinical characterization of VSS patients was performed using current diagnostic criteria.
• An online survey was distributed to patients who self-referred for research participation.
• Phenotypic data from 100 British and 100 Italian VSS patients were compared after age and gender matching.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in VSS features were observed between the British and Italian cohorts.
• The prevalence of migraine comorbidity was similar in both patient groups.
• Previous use of recreational drugs did not differ between the Italian and British VSS populations.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first comparative analysis of VSS phenotype across two distinct national populations.
• Findings suggest that the visual snow phenotype is consistent across British and Italian individuals.
• Migraine comorbidity in VSS appears to be similar regardless of geographic location studied.