NEW Research Article: Lamotrigine, Acetazolamide and Verapamil Potential/Temporary Treatments

A Ghannam and V Pelak, Visual Snow: a Potential Cortical Hyperexcitability Syndrome (2017) This article provides a literature review of what Visual Snow Syndrome is and outlines potential treatment options. They recognise that the main theory to explain Visual Snow is neuronal cortical hyperexcitability, though the exact mechanism for this is yet to be established.  Until research establishes this, it is difficult to resolve VS with treatment. Nonetheless, their experience suggests that lamotrigine, acetazolamide and verapamil can help reduce (though not eliminate) symptoms to improve quality of life to some extent. They recommend that these medications should be investigated further in clinical trials. They are of the opinion ‘that new treatment approaches and treatment trials will emerge in the next decade.’

It is good to see that researchers in addition to Dr.Goadsby and Dr.Schankin and their teams are taking an interest in VS; the more research we have, the quicker we will find a viable treatment. A decade may seem like a long time for some, but we have to patient; we are in a much better position than we were a few years ago in terms of understanding the condition. In the meantime, some of you may consider discussing the suggested medicines with your doctor to see if they think it would benefit you.

Don’t forget to visit the Resources page if you want to read other pieces of research which have been usefully summarised!

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