Migraine genetics
More than half of patients suffering from migraine, have close relatives, especially on the maternal line, also suffering from migraine. A study of more than 8,000 adult twin couples showed that if one of the twin couples develops a migraine, then the second one is twice as likely to develop a migraine than the faces of other twin couples. This study showed that about half of the risk factors for migraine may be due to genetic factors.
There is a rare form of migraine with an autosomal dominant type of inheritance of migraine, manifested by unilateral paralysis or weakness during seizures, which is caused by specific gene mutations and is called familial hemiplegic migraine. Mutations of three specific genes lead to the development of familial hemiplegic migraine:
• chromosome 19 – a1A locus, gene P / Q. neuronal calcium channel (CACNA1A);
• chromosome 1 – a2 locus, Na-K-ATPase gene (ATP1A2); • chromosome 2q24 – neuronal potential-dependent sodium channel (SCN1A).
No significant genetic abnormalities were found among patients with more common forms of migraine.
Iron homeostasis in migraine
An important marker of migraine is the state of homeostasis of iron ions in the region of near-gray gray matter. It was studied in patients with episodic migraine (N = 17); with transformed migraine, which turned into chronic daily headaches (N = 17), and in persons not suffering from headaches (N = 17).
Using MRI in the transverse projections, zones were identified indicating an elevated iron content in patients suffering from episodic migraine (6.11) and patients with chronic daily headaches (6.36) compared with the control group (4.33 ). There were no differences depending on the presence of a migraine aura.
Moreover, the duration of migraine attacks was directly dependent on the intensity of these disorders in both groups of patients suffering from migraine. Although the significance of these findings is not yet clear, in the future they will help to understand the biological basis of migraine and will serve as an impetus for more in-depth studies of possible methods for modifying these morphological changes.