In the largest ever study of migraines, researchers have found
five genetic regions that for the first time have been linked to
the onset of migraine. This study opens new doors to understanding
the cause and biological triggers that underlie migraine
attacks.
The international team, including scientists from the Department
of Twin Research at King's College London, identified 12 genetic
regions associated with migraine susceptibility. Eight of these
regions were found in or near genes known to play a role in
controlling brain circuitries and two of the regions were
associated with genes that are responsible for maintaining healthy
brain tissue. The regulation of these pathways may be important to
the genetic susceptibility of migraines.
Migraine is a debilitating disorder that affects approximately
14 per cent of adults. It has recently been recognised as the
seventh disabler in the Global Burden of Disease Survey 2010 and
estimated to be the most costly neurological disorder. It is an
extremely difficult disorder to study because no biomarkers between
or during attacks have been identified to
date.
Dr Lydia Quaye from King's College London, said: "This is the
largest ever genetic study into migraines and highlights for the
first time the possible genetic causes of what can be a devastating
condition for many. By looking at almost 120 thousand samples, we
have been able to find genes associated with migraine and have
pinpointed some mechanisms through which migraine occurs.
This study gives us a greater understanding of the condition and
will hopefully pave the way for better diagnosis and potential
treatments in the future."
The team uncovered the underlying susceptibilities by comparing
the results from 29 different genomic studies, including over
118,000 samples from both migraine sufferers and control
samples.
They found that some of the regions of susceptibility lay close
to a network of genes that are sensitive to oxidative stress, a
biochemical process that results in the dysfunction of
cells.
The team expects many of the genes at genetic regions associated
with migraine are interconnected and could potentially be
disrupting the internal regulation of tissue and cells in the
brain, resulting in some of the symptoms of
migraine.
"This study has greatly advanced our biological insight about
the cause of migraine," said Dr Aarno Palotie, from the Wellcome
Trust Sanger Institute. "Migraine and epilepsy are particularly
difficult neural conditions to study; between episodes the patient
is basically healthy so it's extremely difficult to uncover
biochemical clues.
"We have proven that this is the most effective approach to
study this type of neurological disorder and understand the biology
that lies at the heart of it."
The paper, Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new susceptibility loci for
migraine, is published in Nature
Genetics.