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First Gene Link to Common Migraine Uncovered

by Kathy Jones on August 30, 2010 at 9:09 PM Genetics & Stem Cells News

The first inherited link to common types of migraine has been uncovered by scientists. This is a finding that boosts hopes for new drugs to curb this painful and costly disorder.

First Gene Link to Common Migraine Uncovered

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Scientists from 40 medical centres pored over the genetic profiles of more than 50,000 people, comparing those who suffered badly from migraines with others who were otherwise healthy.

What came up in the net was a tiny but telltale variant of DNA that boosts the risk of getting migraines by around fifth.

"This is the first time we have been able to peer into the genomes of many thousands of people and find genetic clues to understand common migraine," said Aarno Palotie, head of the International Headache Genetics Consortium at Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which led the study.

Previous research has found links for some extreme, but mercifully rare, forms of migraine, but this is the first to pinpoint an association for common types of the disease.

The tiny genetic variant, or allele, is called rs1835740.

Lying on Chromosome 8 between two genes, PGCP and MTDH/AEG-1, it allows a messenger chemical called glutamate to accumulate in junctions between brain cells, and this unleashes the migraine, the scientists believe.

If so, drug engineers have a tempting target in preventing glutamate buildup, they hope.

The paper, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, cited figures that migraine affects 17 percent of European women and eight percent of men.

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First Gene Link to Common Migraine Uncovered

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