Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Two common mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms are highly associated with migraine headache and cyclic vomiting syndrome
E A Zaki1, T Freilinger, T Klopstock
1Division of Medical Genetics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA.
Abstract:
Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hypothesized component in the multifactorial pathogenesis of migraine without aura (MoA, 'common migraine') and the related condition of cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). In this study, the entire mitochondrial genome was sequenced in 20 haplogroup-H CVS patients, a subject group studied because of greater genotypic and phenotypic homogeneity. Sequences were compared against haplogroup-H controls. Polymorphisms of interest were tested in 10 additional CVS subjects and in 112 haplogroup-H adults with MoA. The 16519C-->T polymorphism was found to be highly disease associated: 21/30 CVS subjects [70%, odds ratio (OR) 6.2] and 58/112 migraineurs (52%, OR 3.6) vs. 63/231 controls (27%). A second polymorphism, 3010G-->A, was found to be highly disease associated in those subjects with 16519T: 6/21 CVS subjects (29%, OR 17) and 15/58 migraineurs (26%, OR 15) vs. 1/63 controls (1.6%). Our data suggest that these polymorphisms constitute a substantial proportion of the genetic factor in migraine pathogenesis, and strengthen the hypothesis that there is a component of mitochondrial dysfunction in migraine.
Related Concept Videos
Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
