Genetics of Migraine - Is There any Progress?

Abstract

Until now, the diagnosis of “migraine” is exclusively clinical, and any diagnostic tests are aimed only at excluding other causes of headache [4]. There are also problems with migraine treatment and although both traditional analgesics and specific anti-migraine products are available in the market, treatment of migraine patients is still not sufficiently effective. For example, specific anti-migraine agents (triptans) help control only two out of three attacks, and migraine prevention products are considered effective, if they reduce the frequency of attacks by 50% or more. The chronification of migraine attacks and the development of chronic daily headaches, occurring in 1% of patients per year [5], are a significant clinical problem. However, about 10% of migraine patients in the population and 40-60% of patients visiting specialized headache centers are resistant to standard therapy [6]. Treatment of such patients is the most expensive.