Study on Migraine brings hope to new cure

Scientists have launched the largest study to look at migraines giving hope to finding the cure.

08:55 26 June 2013

The largest study aimed to understand migraine better was recently launched by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. According to the scientists, five regions of DNA that contain genes linked to migraine were identified.  Identifying these regions could be the first but most important step to understand the causes of migraines. This can lead to the development of the much needed cure.

Based on statistics, migraine affects about 14per cent of the population and it is described as a crippling, intense headache at the front or side of the head. This condition is difficult to study because in between episodes people are otherwise healthy.

Dr Padhraig Gormley, who was involved in study, said: "At a fundamental biological level we really don't know what causes a migraine.

"Many people find it very debilitating, becoming overly-sensitive to stimuli such as light and sound. They find it very difficult to function and just want to lock themselves away in a darkened room.

"These five new genetic regions increase your susceptibility to develop migraine.

"There were already seven regions discovered, so we have 12 now. We think there should be many, many more, so there is still a lot of work to do."