8/29/2010 PERMALINK
First genetic link to common migraine discovered. Item: Researchers have found the first ever genetic risk factor associated with common types of migraine. The team found that patients with the DNA variant have a significantly greater risk for developing migraine and suggest that an accumulation of a chemical known as glutamate in nerve cell junctions in the brain may play a key role in the initiation of migraine attacks. The research opens the door for new studies into migraine in humans. "Although we knew that the EAAT2 gene has a crucial role to play in neurological processes in human and potentially in the development of migraine, until now, no genetic link has been identified to suggest that glutamate accumulation in the brain could play a role in common migraine," says co-senior author of the study Professor Christian Kubisch of University of Ulm, Germany.