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5yr

Identifying genetic variants for age of migraine onset in a Han Chinese population in Taiwan - The Journal of Headache and Pain

Identifying genetic variants for age of migraine onset in a Han Chinese population in Taiwan - The Journal of Headache and Pain

Source : https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10194-021-01301-y

Background Considering the involvement of genetics in migraine pathogenesis in diverse ethnic populations, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are being conducted to identify migraine-susceptibility genes. However, limited surveys have focused on the onset age of migraine (AoM) in Asians. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to identify the susceptibility loci of migraine considering the AoM in an Asian population.

  • 5yr
    This is really interesting, that genetics can help to determine age of onset.
  • 5yr

    Key Points
    • Conclusion/Relevance: “To our knowledge, this is the first GWAS [genome-wide association studies] to investigate the AoM [age of migraine] in an Asian Han Chinese population. Our newly discovered susceptibility genes may have prospective associations with migraine pathogenesis.
    • The Taiwanese researchers performed GWAS in 715 Han Chinese patients with migraine. They found eight novel susceptibility loci.
    • “In this study, rs146094041 in ESRRG and rs7124169 in chromosome 11 were found to be more susceptible to early AoM with ≤ 12 years,” the authors wrote. “SNP rs181024055 in NRAP was associated with later AoM in all migraine cohort analysis. Furthermore, 4 SNPs, rs77630941 in CUX1, rs146778855 in CDH18, rs117608715 in NOL3, and rs150592309 near PRAP1, were found to be correlated with late AoM in the aura group. Furthermore, rs181024055 in NRAP is associated with late AoM in the migraine without aura group.”
    • Strengths of the current study included a structured interview and authenticated questionnaires for participants that ensured the exclusion of other types of headache. Another strength was that genes linked to AoM onset were mostly harbored in the nervous system and played a role in neuronal excitability and neurogenesis.
    • In addition to limited power, other limitations of the current study were that the number of patients in the aura group (23.3%) was more than a previous study (10%). Additionally, no control group was included, and instead reference values for allele frequency of AoM-associated SNPs was drawn from the Taiwan Biobank. Another limitation was that the association between mechanism and functional analysis of putative genes and migraine was limited.