Genetic cause for migraines discovered

WASHINGTON: A US scientist, who suffered from crippling migraines as a child, has found the gene flaw that causes the condition, paving way for better treatments for unpredictable and pounding headaches.

As a teenage student athlete, Emily Bates hated never knowing when the next migraine would strike, disrupting her schoolwork, practises and competitions.

The Brigham Young University chemistry professor identified mutations in a gene that makes people more susceptible to migraine headaches.

The study is the first demonstration of a genetic cause for the common migraine and is an important step in the search for a cure.

"I had migraines really frequently and severely," Bates said.

"I would lose my vision, vomit uncontrollably - it would wipe out an entire day. I decided then as a high school student that I was going to work on migraines, that I was going to figure them out and help find a cure," Bates said.

A team of geneticists led by Louis Ptacek at UC San Francisco's medical school worked with two families that appeared to have a dominantly inherited form of the affliction.

The researchers zeroed in on genetic mutations these families had in common - mutations that affect production of a protein known as casein kinase delta.

To test whether this was a cause or a coincidence, Bates designed an experiment to determine whether the same genetic trait led to migraine symptoms in mice.

"All sensations become amplified with migraines, including touch, heat, sound and light," said Bates.

The researchers observed this heightened sensitivity in the migraine mice in very subtle ways - from the warmth of a tiny light and the pressure of a single hair-like filament.

"It's a molecular clue. Now we can try to figure out what this specific protein affects in the body and how that is involved with migraines," Bates said.

"There haven't been a lot of people working on migraine research, mostly because it's so complex and unpredictable," Bates said.

The study was published in journal Science Translational Medicine.

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