Genetic Factors Tied to Stress-Related Migraines

Are migraines caused by errant genes activated by stress? The answer could be yes, according to a new study that has found individuals with a specific variation in a gene have more migraines under financial stress, Psychcentral.com reports.

The study, presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) conference in Paris, found that the so-called CLOCK gene (short for Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput) affects biological body rhythms — including levels of the stress hormone cortisol and body temperature.

Past studies have shown variations in circadian genes like CLOCK have an impact on mood disorders. For the new study, the researchers wanted to investigate whether these genes were also associated with migraine development.

For the study, researchers checked 999 patients from Budapest and 1,350 from Manchester, England, for two variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) of the CLOCK gene and investigated how these are associated with migraine.

No direct link was found between the gene and migraine, but when the researchers factored in stress (financial stress, measured by a financial questionnaire), those particular gene variants increased the odds of migraine by around 20 percent in participants who suffered from financial hardship.

“This is a really interesting study on the interaction of genetics with stress in migraine. The studied gene is involved in the circadian system, which has previously been shown to be implicated in mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, which intriguingly is comorbid with migraine,” said Andreas Reif from University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany.

“Thus, this study might provide a clue how these diseases might be linked on the genetic level which is interesting as such. But even beyond this, the study demonstrates how an environmental risk factor exerts its effect only in the presence of a given genetic risk factor. This has not been done to a great extent in migraine, making this study an exciting new lead.”