Migrene og genetikk

Abstract

Migraine is a disease where both environment and genetics play an important etiological role. It is a common disease, who affects more than 10 % of the grown up population. This article gives an overview over the genetic factors that play a role in developing migraine. Then it compares these factors with genetic factors important in developing anxiety/depression and epilepsy, which are diseases that are associated with migraine. A possible common gene between anxiety/depression and migraine is 5-HTTLPR, which codes for a serotonine transporter, but we can not absolutely conclude that a variant of this gene gives any of these diseases. However, there is no doubt that influences on the serotonine metabolism is important in the development of both diseases, either because of a variant of this gene or because of other factors. There is an autosomale dominant variant of migraine, familial hemiplegic migraine. Mutations in three genes are identified to give this disease; CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A. These mutations can also give common migraine. All of these have been claimed as mutations that could give epilepsy, even if the data is more convincing for CACNA1A and SCN1A, than for ATP1A2. There is probably also common pathophysiology between epilepsy and migraine, where cortical spreading depression plays an important role in development of seizure.