DAILY MAIL - 13th June 2011 - The genetic clue that may explain why women get more migraines

By FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 10:33 AM on 13th June 2011

Hopes of a cure for migraines have been boosted by the discovery of three genes linked to the crippling headaches.

One of the rogue stretches of DNA also seems to be more likely to trigger migraines in women, helping explain why they are three times more likely to suffer.
Thought to affect one in every eight people, migraines feature in the World Health Organisation’s top 20 most disabling lifetime conditions and cost the UK economy an estimated £2billion a year.

The intense headaches, which can be accompanied by nausea and an acute sensitivity to light, may take up to three days to pass and are difficult to treat.
Researchers from the respected Harvard Medical School examined 23,000 patients and linked three stretches of DNA to migraines, the journal Nature Genetics reports.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2002789/The-genetic-clue-explain-women-migraines.html#ixzz1PB86Nt1g