RESEARCHERS from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have found a biological mechanism behind the reduction of migraine frequency in chronic migraine sufferers, after their gradual withdrawal from available migraine medications.
The study, Alterations in DNA methylation associate with reduced migraine and headache days after medication withdrawal treatment in chronic migraine patients: a longitudinal study, was published in Clinical Epigenetics and described the finding of epigenetic changes in two genes implicated in the transition from episodic migraines to chronic migraine.
First author QUT geneticist Prof Divya Mehta from QUT's Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health in the School of Biomedical Sciences said chronic migraine was a major headache for about 2% of the population.
"Overuse of acute headache pain relief and other medications is an important factor in the development and maintenance of chronic migraine," Prof Mehta said.
Co-first author and researcher molecular biologist and geneticist Dr Heidi Sutherland added that DNA was analysed from blood taken from patients with chronic migraine at the beginning of and after the 12-week withdrawal from medication treatment.
"We found epigenetic changes in the HDAC4 gene that were associated with a mean reduction in headache days following the withdrawal of acute medication and that decreased DNA methylation levels were associated with reduced headache days."
Prof Mehta said the findings had "huge clinical implications as they indicated that these genes might be novel therapeutic targets for migraine treatment".
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