Migraines are debilitating chronic headaches that can cause pain for hours or days. They can begin in the early teen years and may be triggered by many things, including stress, odors, certain foods, alcohol, etc. Some migraines are accompanied by visual disturbances called auras, which are characterized by sensitivity to light, scintillating shapes, sometimes nausea and vomiting. About a third of migraine attacks are preceded by an aura.

Aura migraines are those migraines that are preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms or auras, such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in an arm or leg. The ensuing headache can be associated with sensitivity to lights, sounds, and smells, as well as nausea and occasional vomiting. Migraine headaches are distinctly different than a common headache, and have proven troublesome, sometimes leading to very frequent and debilitating occurrences in some individuals. Activation of trigeminal ganglia and dorsal root ganglia is central to the development of migraine and increased activation of these neurons could increase the risk for creating a migraine attack.

Genes involved in moving salts through a nerve membrane are called ion channel or \”transporter\” genes. Recent research has shed light on two-pore-domain Potassium (K2P) channels as a highly regulated and diverse superfamily of ion channels that are thought to provide baseline regulation of nerve membrane excitability. Of these, the \”tandem pore domain potassium\” (or TREK) channels are expressed highly in the human central nervous system (CNS), and can be activated by temperature, membrane stretch, and acidity.

Aura migraines are those migraines that are preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms or auras, such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in an arm or leg. The ensuing headache can be associated with sensitivity to lights, sounds, and smells, as well as nausea and occasional vomiting. Migraine headaches are distinctly different than a common headache, and have proven troublesome, sometimes leading to very frequent and debilitating occurrences in some individuals. Activation of trigeminal ganglia and dorsal root ganglia is central to the development of migraine treatments and increased activation of these neurons could increase the risk for creating a migraine attack.

Genes involved in moving salts through a nerve membrane are called ion channel or \”transporter\” genes. Recent research has shed light on two-pore-domain Potassium (K2P) channels as a highly regulated and diverse superfamily of ion channels that are thought to provide baseline regulation of nerve membrane excitability. Of these, the \”tandem pore domain potassium\” (or TREK) channels are expressed highly in the human central nervous system (CNS), and can be activated by temperature, membrane stretch, and acidity.

Now that a gene defect leading to a common form of migraine headaches has been identified and sequenced, a pill to prevent migraine headaches could be coming in a few years. If drugs can be explored which increase TRESK activity in affected individuals, then this may reduce the sensitivity of the critical CNS nerve cells, which in turn could reduce the likelihood of migraine. So, new drug-based migraine treatments could be developed, based on these important discoveries.

According to Dr. Guy Roleau of the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center of the University of Montreal, part of the international team, \”We may be moving toward developing a pill that would block the brain\’s pain channel that reacts to stimulation and causes pain in migraine…Sequencing the gene not only allows us to understand the disease – it also opens understanding of the pain pathways that trigger migraine pain.\” Dr. Roleau also is hopeful that, for the first time since the discovery of triptans in the 1980\’s, researchers may be able to develop preventive drugs for migraine headaches.

The discovery of a gene for aura migraines in 2010 confirms the common observation that migraine is very common in some families, and the proof now that a genetic factor in migraine auras is at work here is an important advance in understanding the biochemical and metabolic basis of migraine treatment.