Frank's sign or Frank sign is a diagonal ear lobe crease (ELC) extending diagonally from the tragus across the lobule to the rear edge of the auricle.

It has been hypothesised that Frank's sign is indicative of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease

Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...

 and/or diabetes. Some studies have described Frank's sign as a marker of cardiovascular disease but not linked to the severity of the condition. In contrast, other studies have rebutted any association between Frank's sign and coronary artery disease.

However, researchers do agree that these creases have no predictive value in Native American Indian and Oriental patients.

Some studies have focused upon bilateral ELC.

The sign is named after Dr. Sanders T. Frank

Sanders T. Frank

Dr. Sanders T. Frank M.D. is an American pulmonologist known for describing Frank's sign. He was born in Middletown, Connecticut and qualified from New York Medical College. He has worked as director of respiratory medicine and associate clinical professor of medicine at the Garfield Medical...

.

Severity

• Grade 3 - A deep crease across the whole of the earlobe
• Grade 2a - Creased more than halfway across the earlobe
• Grade 2b - A superficial crease across the earlobe
• Grade 1 - A small amount of wrinkling on the earlobe

Notable Individuals with Frank's Sign

• George W. Bush
  George W. Bush
  George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
  
  : Link to The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
   on-line newspaper article with photograph revealing Frank's sign http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2007/feb/22/howgeorgebushruinedthewes
• Barney Frank
  Barney Frank
  Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
  
  : Link to wikipedia commons file revealing Frank's sign http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barney_Frank.jpg
• Steven Spielberg
  Steven Spielberg
  Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
  
  : Link to Rotten Tomatoes
  Rotten Tomatoes
  Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
  
   image revealing Frank's signhttp://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/celeb/top_100/steven_spielberg.jpg
• Lech Walesa: Link to the Polish American Cultural Center biography picture revealing Frank's signhttp://www.polishamericancenter.org/Pictures/walesa.jpg

Links to images

• Frank's Sign from Hong Kong
• Grade 2a Frank's Sign
• Illustration of Frank's Sign