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Gene
may put women with Migraine at increased
risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
Newswise — Women who
experience migraine with aura appear to be
at an increased risk of heart disease and
stroke if they have a certain gene,
according to a study published in the July
30, 2008, online issue of Neurology®,
the medical journal of the American Academy
of Neurology.
For the study, researchers
followed 25,001 Caucasian women for the
occurrence of cardiovascular disease,
including heart attacks and ischemic stroke.
About 18 percent of the women in the study
had a history of migraine while 40 percent
of those with active migraine reported
migraine with aura.
Migraine with aura can be
described as neurological symptoms that
usually last for about 30 minutes and most
often lead to visual disturbances.
The women were also tested
for a certain gene variant in the
methyleneterahydrofolate reductase gene.
During a 12-year follow-up
period, 625 cardiovascular disease events
occurred.
The study found that women
who had both the gene variant and migraine
with aura had more than three times the risk
of cardiovascular disease, which was driven
by four times the risk for stroke compared
with women who did not have the gene variant
and no history of migraine.
An estimated 11 percent of
the study population carries the gene
variant.
“This gene by itself does not
appear to increase the risk for overall and
for specific cardiovascular disease, but
rather this research suggests a possible
connection between the gene variant and
migraine with aura.
"While
it is too early to start testing young women
with migraine with aura for this gene
variant, more focused research will help us
to understand these complex links and will
help us to potentially develop preventative
strategies,” said study author Tobias Kurth,
MD, ScD, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital
and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
Kurth is also a member of the American
Academy of Neurology.
Since the study only looked at women,
investigators say it is not known whether
the results would be the same in men.
“Doctors should try to reduce
heart disease risk factors and advise young
women who experience migraine with aura not
to smoke and to consider birth control pill
alternatives as these increase the risk of
ischemic vascular problems,” said Kurth.
Heart disease is the leading
cause of death and stroke is the third
leading cause of death in the United States.
The study was supported by
grants from the National Heart, Lung and
Blood Institute, the National Cancer
Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds
Foundation, the Leducq Foundation, the Doris
Duke Charitable Foundation, F. Hoffman
La-Roche and Roche Molecular Systems and the
German Research Foundation.
The American Academy of
Neurology, an association of more than
21,000 neurologists and neuroscience
professionals, is dedicated to improving
patient care through education and research.
A neurologist is a doctor
with specialized training in diagnosing,
treating and managing disorders of the brain
and nervous system such as epilepsy,
dystonia, migraine, Huntington’s disease,
and dementia. For more information about the
American Academy of Neurology, visit
http://www.aan.com.
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