Early Research on Genetics and Hereditary Migraines
Migraines may occur more often in certain families, but because migraine symptoms and migraine triggers vary greatly between individuals, tracking the specific genetics of this condition is difficult.
Early research has suggested that aura migraines and migraines without aura each have their own hereditary characteristics.3 For example, an early population-based study found that first-degree relatives of migraine without aura sufferers had a 1.9 times greater risk of developing the condition themselves and a 1.4 greater risk of aura migraine. However, first-degree relatives of aura migraine sufferers had nearly four times the risk of experiencing aura migraines themselves.5
New Gene Sequencing Offers Clues
More recently, a new gene-sequencing technology called Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) has helped researchers begin to identify specific genes that may affect the development of migraines. This technique compares DNA from individuals with migraine to similar individuals without migraine. When a particular DNA sequence variation is found more often in the DNA of those with migraine, that region is thought to be associated with the condition.
One recent GWAS analysis looked at the DNA of more than 23,000 migraine sufferers and compared it with DNA from more than 95,000 similar individuals without migraine. This analysis found 12 specific areas of the DNA that appear to be associated with migraine, two of which were specifically associated only with migraine without aura. Why does this matter? Early research indicated that aura migraines were more commonly hereditary — but this study suggests that migraine without aura can also have a strong family history.6
