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Can Migraines Be Inherited?

There are many types of migraines. Although the exact cause of migraines is still unknown, the prevailing theory is that genes that make a person more likely to get migraines pass from parent to child.

  1. Studies

    • A 2008 study of 1,700 migraine patients in Finland and Australia suggests that in women, the gene to predispose the brain to migraines is at chromosome 10q23. This was to back up a previous American study done in 2002 at UCLA.

    Types

    • The book Migraines For Dummies states that familial hemiplegic migraines (migraines with extreme coordination problems one side of the body) may be caused by a variant on chromosome 19.

    Significance

    • Although it is unknown how these chromosome variations affect the brain, the Mayo Clinic theorizes that it makes a brain not able to properly absorb the neurotransmitter serotonin.

    Gender

    • Women are three times more likely to get migraines than men--no matter what genes the men have, according to studies on twins, published in the The Journal of Head and Face Pain in 2005.

    Speculation

    • Although people in the same family may share genes for migraines, they may not share triggers. Triggers are foods, events, intolerance of medicines, hormonal changes or even weather changes that spark a migraine in an individual.

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