27/09/2010

Migraine Is Genetic Defect, Study Reveals

As a result of identifying the migraine headache as a genetic defect, Scientists are now targeting new treatments.

A study in Nature Medicine suggests, a flawed gene found in a family of migraine sufferers could help trigger the severe headaches.

The discovery is a step forward in understanding why one in five people suffer from migraines, Dr Zameel Cader of the University of Oxford stated.

Scientists, including those at the Medical Research Council's Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford found a gene known as TRESK directly contributes to the cause of migraine in some patients.

The study found that environmental factors can more easily trigger pain centres in the brain and cause a severe headache, if the gene does not work properly.

The team used DNA samples from families with common migraine to identify the defective gene.

Dr Aarno Palotie, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "It opens new avenues for planning new research which possibly could then lead to new treatments... but of course it's a long road."

(BMcN/GK)

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