By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence

LIVERMORE, CA (Nov. 1, 1996) A new gene discovery should help researchers who are looking for better understanding of the cause of migraine headache, along with better treatments.

Chromosome 19 For more information about diseases associated with this chromosome, visit the NCBI's Gene Map of the Human Genome

Researchers from Leiden University in The Netherlands discovered an abnormally structured gene in people suffering from a rare inherited form of migraine called familial hemiplegic migraine. Over a three year period, the Dutch researchers studied patients and used chromosome fragments to identify the gene. The migraine-associated gene resides on chromosome 19. The gene regulates the transport of calcium into specific classes of brain cells. The movement of calcium into these cells regulates the release of neurotransmitters believed to be part of the migraine disease process. The Dutch researchers relied on a genetic roadmap of sorts, a physical map of chromosome 19. The map was developed at The Human Genome Center at Lawrence Livermore and includes a set a set of well-characterized DNA fragments -- or clones -- spanning the chromosome. Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of disabling headache, vomiting and malaise. Some 24 percent of females and 12 percent of males in the general population are affected by some form of migraine. In most cases the cause remains a mystery. Some, but not all, patients can now be treated with a variety of drugs. The children of familial hemiplegic migraine sufferers have a 50-50 chance of also exhibiting the condition.