Severe migraine gene link
People affected by a severe type of migraine in which one side of the body becomes weak may soon be identified through genetic testing, say Dutch researchers. According to a new study published in the journal Neurology, a rare, severe form of the condition called sporadic hemiplegic migraine is often caused by alterations in one of three genes.
The team, based at the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, studied 39 men and women with the disorder, none of whom had a family history of migraine. The researchers investigated whether any of the participants had faulty versions of three genes previously linked to an inherited form of migraine, called CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A. They found that 18 per cent of the patients did have, with alterations in the ATP1A2 gene being most common.
Team member Michel D. Ferrari explained that scientists usually start searching for genetic changes only in families in which several members have the disease. ‘This is the first study looking for genes in patients with a severe type of migraine but without similarly affected family members. The study shows that genes are important even in so called sporadic migraine patients’, he said.
Ferrari believes that the findings may also help doctors diagnose and treat the problem, which is often misdiagnosed as stroke, epilepsy or other conditions. Better diagnosis would avoid patients being prescribed unnecessary, ineffective and potentially harmful medications, he says.
Sources:
Genetic predisposition to migraine
Genetic Testing May Help People With Severe Type Of Migraine
Systematic analysis of three FHM genes in 39 sporadic patients with hemiplegic migraine