[Genetics of migraine]

Abstract

Several historical reports focusing on the heredity of migraine, as well as recent studies on its epidemiology and molecular biology, have revealed evidence for a decisive role of genetic factors in the aetiopathogenesis of familial migraine. Indeed, family studies, segregation analyses and twin studies have shown that genetic factors play an important role in disposition towards migraine but could not explain the entire aetiopathogenesis. The influence of extragenetic factors, however, remains mostly unknown. Recent linkage analyses have provided evidence for genetic heterogeneity. A locus for Familial Hemiplegic Migraine (FHM), the only known type of migraine that follows autosomaldominant transmission, has been linked to chromosome 19p13 but genetic heterogeneity has also been shown, i.e., different types of migraine could be excluded from this locus. Further investigations should concentrate on identifying the FHM gene on chromosome 19p13, on linkage analyses with markers for different susceptibility genes, and on genomic analyses of highly informative pedigrees. This would lead to further clues to the pathogenesis underlying migraine and, thus, to therapeutic developments.