Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32712879›Full record

ArticleHead and neck pathology2021

The Histological Basis of Frank's Sign.

George S Stoyanov, Deyan Dzhenkov, Lilyana Petkova, Nikolay Sapundzhiev, Svetoslav Georgiev

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Head and neck pathology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. More Than a Wrinkle: The Burden of Franck's Sign.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026
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  17. The prognostic value of the Frank sign.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

George S StoyanovDepartment of General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University - Varna "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Marin Drinov 55 str., 9002, Varna, Bulgaria. georgi.geesh@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6950-0615
Deyan DzhenkovDepartment of General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University - Varna "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Marin Drinov 55 str., 9002, Varna, Bulgaria.
Lilyana PetkovaDepartment of General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University - Varna "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Marin Drinov 55 str., 9002, Varna, Bulgaria.
Nikolay SapundzhievDivision of ENT Diseases Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery and ENT Diseases, Medical University - Varna "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Marin Drinov 55 str., Varna, Bulgaria.
Svetoslav GeorgievDivision of Cardiology, First Department of Internal Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University - Varna "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov", Marin Drinov 55 str., Varna, Bulgaria.
Medical University of Varna · BG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Frank's sign is a diagonal crease of the ear lobe, supposedly related to cardiac pathology, and has strongly been associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis. A total of 45 consecutive adult patients referred for autopsy in a one-and-a-half-year period were extensively studied. Samples from both the ear lobes were obtained for histopathology, as well as cardiac samples from all four cardiac compartments. When compared patients with Frank's sign and those without it had no statistical difference in age (p = 0.0575). There was however a statistically significant increased cardiac weight (p = 0.0005), left ventricular wall thickness (p = 0.0002), and right ventricular wall thickness (p = 0.0043). Histopathology obtained from the ear lobes revealed myoelastofibrosis in an arterial vessel, located at the base of the crease, diffuse fibrosis, and Wallerian-like degeneration, with eosinophilic inclusions in the peripheral nerves. These changes suggest a time-related progression of the crease-associated changes. Our data suggest a significant correlation between the morphological changes of the myocardium and the presence of the ear lobe creases, with arterial myoelastofibrosis, Wallerian-like degeneration in peripheral nerves and deep tissue fibrosis found in the base of the crease.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAutopsyEar, ExternalFemaleFibrosisHeart DiseasesHumansMaleMiddle AgedFibrosisFrank’s signHeart failureHypoxiaNeural degenerationPathology

Identifiers

PMID32712879
PMCPMC8134579
OpenAlexW3044155387

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.