The largest genetic study of migraine to date rev
An international consortium of leading migraine researchers identified more than 120 regions of the genome associated with migraine risk. Pioneering research will help researchers better understand the biological basis of migraine and its subtypes and can accelerate the search for new treatments for a disease that affects more than a billion people worldwide.
In the largest migraine genome study to date, researchers have more than tripled the number of known genetic risk factors for migraines. Among the 123 genetic regions identified, there are two that contain target genes for newly developed migraine-specific drugs.
The study involved leading migraine research teams in Europe, Australia and the United States, working together to gather genetic data from more than 873,000 study participants, 102,000 of whom had migraines.
The new findings were published in the journal on February 3, 2022 Nature Genetics too revealed more genetic architecture of migraine subtypes than previously known.
The pathophysiology of migraine is underpinned by neurovascular mechanisms
Migraine is a very common brain disease with over a billion patients worldwide. The exact cause of migraine is not known, but it is believed to be a neurovascular disorder with disease mechanisms in both the brain and the blood vessels in the head.
Previous studies have shown that genetic factors have a significant impact on migraine risk. However, it has long been debated whether the two types of migraines – auricular migraine and migraine without aura – have a similar genetic background.
To gain a better understanding of specific risk genes, researchers at the International Headache Genetics Consortium compiled a large set of genetic data to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) looking for genetic variants that were more common in those with migraines in general. or either of two migraine types.
The results showed that migraine subtypes have both common risk factors and risk factors that appear to be specific to one subtype. The analyzes highlighted three risk variants that appear to be specific for aura migraine and two that appear to be specific for aura-free migraine.
“In addition to involving more research into dozens of new regions of the genome, our research provides the first meaningful opportunity to evaluate common and distinct genetic components in two major subtypes of migraine,” said the first author of the study. Heidi Hautakangas Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki.
In addition, the results supported the notion that migraine is caused by genetic factors in both neurons and blood vessels, confirming the notion that migraine is indeed a disorder of the nervous system.
Opportunity to refer to new migraine treatments
As migraine is the second leading cause of disability in the world, the need for new treatments is clearly high.
Of particular interest was the identification of genomic risk areas that contain genes encoding targets for newly developed migraine-specific therapeutic drugs.
One of the newly identified regions contains genes (CALCA / CALCB). The second risk area covers HTR1F a gene encoding the serotonin 1F receptor, which is also the target of new migraine-specific drugs.
DR. Matti PirinenThe team leader from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Helsinki commented: even bigger. “
The study was conducted in collaboration with research groups in Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Article title
Genome-wide analysis of 102,084 migraine cases identifies 123 risk loci and subtype-specific risk alleles
Article publication date
February 3, 2022
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