THURSDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) — Scientists stated that they’ve detected a gene that may reduce the risk of migraines with aura.

Though, the risk is still there, if the person develops migraines with aura, this migraine-protective gene in fact boosts their stroke risk.

“There is a reduced connection of migraine with aura with this gene, but if you have migraine with aura, the risk of stroke is multiplied,” said author, Dr. Tobias Kurth, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

While, using data from over 25,000 white women who took part in the Women’s Health Study, Tobias and his team came to know that around 18 % of the women have history of migraine.

Among the group, almost 40 % said they had migraines initiated with an aura. An aura is a visual disturbance, for instance, seeing flashing lights.
During the follow-up of 12 years, 625 women had cardiovascular diseases, such as a stroke, according to the study.

The researchers found that, women who carried a particular form of the gene MTHFR 677C; a gene that had been recommended by previous research as a possible bond between migraine (with aura) and stroke. They found that 11 % of them carried this gene variant.

However, the MTHFR 677C variant alone does not appear to increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders in women with the gene and a history of migraine with aura.

Kurth said “at the moment, we’re not suggesting genotyping for women with migraines with aura. The consequences (of having this gene) are completely unclear at present.”
Kurth also noted that researchers can’t explain the effect of this gene for men from this study.

In another expert’s opinion “the problem here is they’re trying to find the exact gene, and they’re getting estimations, but to isolate the exact gene is very difficult. This might be an association rather than a direct cause, so until more research is performed, screening isn’t justified,” said Dr. Keith Siller, medical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Care Center at New York.

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