Meta-analysis of 375,000 individuals identifies 38 susceptibility loci for migraine

International Headache Genetics Consortium, The International Headache Genetics Consortium

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

469 Scopus citations

Abstract

Migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder affecting around one in seven people worldwide, but its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. There is some debate about whether migraine is a disease of vascular dysfunction or a result of neuronal dysfunction with secondary vascular changes. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have thus far identified 13 independent loci associated with migraine. To identify new susceptibility loci, we carried out a genetic study of migraine on 59,674 affected subjects and 316,078 controls from 22 GWA studies. We identified 44 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with migraine risk (P < 5 × 10-8) that mapped to 38 distinct genomic loci, including 28 loci not previously reported and a locus that to our knowledge is the first to be identified on chromosome X. In subsequent computational analyses, the identified loci showed enrichment for genes expressed in vascular and smooth muscle tissues, consistent with a predominant theory of migraine that highlights vascular etiologies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)856-866
Number of pages11
JournalNature Genetics
Volume48
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2016

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