Scientists have uncovered a trio of genes tied to migraine headaches, including one in which the link is exclusive to women, according to a study published Sunday.

   Migraines are acutely debilitating headaches -- sometimes with an "aura", in which patients have the impression of seeing through frosted glass -- that strike up to 20 percent of the population.

   Scientists describe the condition, which is three to four times more common in women, as a brain disorder in which neurons, or brain cells, respond abnormally to stimuli.

   The precise cause it unknown, but inheritance is thought to play a significant role.

   To assess the genetic component, Markus Schuerks of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston coordinated an international sweep of genomes in 23,230 women, 5,122 of whom suffered from migraines.

   So-called genome-wide association studies compare differences between individuals across the approximately three billion pairs of basic molecular building blocks found in the human genetic code.

   The study, published Sunday in the British journal Nature Genetics, is the largest to date of its kind. It found variations in three genes that showed up more frequently in migraine patients.

   Two of them, known as PRDM16 and TRPM8, were specific to migraines, as opposed to other kinds of headaches.

   TRPM8, in addition, was linked to migraines only in women. Earlier studies have shown that the same gene contains the genetic "blueprint" for a pain sensor, in both men and women.

   The third suspect gene, LRP1, is involved in sensing the external world and in chemical pathways inside the brain.

   "The brain of a person with migraine responds differently to certain stimuli, their nerve cells 'talk' differently to each other," explained Shuerks in an email.

   "Many neurotransmitters are involved in this cross-talk and some seem to have a special role in migraines. LRP1 interacts with some of these neurotransmitter pathways and may thus modulate nerve responses that promote or suppress migraine attacks."

   None of the genetic variants appeared to be connected specifically to migraines with or without auras.

   The findings, published in Nature Genetics, were replicated in two smaller population-based studies, one in the Netherlands and the other in Germany, and in a clinical group followed by the International Headache Genetics Consortium.

   "Inheritance of any of the genetic variants alters migraine risk by about 10 to 15 percent," said Schuerks.

   The influence of these genes is probably not large enough to be immediately used as a diagnostic tool. But the result "is an advancement of the understanding of migraine biology," he said.

  
두통이 심한 이유는...

    (서울=연합뉴스) 한성간 기자 = 편두통과 관련된 3개 변이유전자가 발견됐다.

    미국 하버드 대학 의과대학 브리검 여성병원의 마커스 슈어크스(Markus Schuerk

s) 박사는 편두통과 연관된 3개 변이유전자를 찾아냈으며 이 변이유전자 중 어느 하 나만 가지고 있어도 편두통 위험이 10-15% 높아진다고 밝힌 것으로 AFP통신 등이 12 일 보도했다.

    슈어크스 박사는 편두통 환자 5천122명이 포함된 여성 2만3천230명의 유전자 염 기서열을 비교분석한 결과 PRDM16, TRPM8, LRP1 등 3개 유전자 변이가 편두통과  연 관이 있는 것으로 나타났다고 밝혔다.

    PRDM16과 TRPM8 유전자는 통증에 대한 민감성을 조절하고 LRP1 유전자는  뉴런(

신경세포) 사이의 신호전달에 관여하는 것으로 밝혀졌지만 이 3개 변이유전자가  어 떻게 편두통과 연관되는 것인지에 대해서는 앞으로 연구가 더 필요하다고 슈어크스 박사는 말했다.

    그는 편두통 환자는 특정 자극에 대해 보통사람과는 다르게 반응하며 따라서 신 경세포들이 서로 주고받는 신호가 다르다면서 이번 연구결과로 편두통이 통증감각장 애라는 것이 확실해 졌다고 말했다.

    이 연구결과는 영국의 유전학전문지 '네이처 유전학(Nature Genentics)' 온라인 판(6월12일자)에 실렸다.