Shared genetics in epilepsy and migraine: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Genetics

Background:

• Migraine and epilepsy are distinct neurological disorders with overlapping prevalence.
• Clinical, mechanistic, and genetic studies suggest a convergence between migraine and epilepsy.
• Both conditions exhibit higher co-occurrence in families and individuals than expected by chance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the shared genetic susceptibility between migraine and epilepsy.
• To understand the common mechanisms underlying the co-occurrence of these neurological disorders.
• To explore the genetic basis of both conditions individually and collectively.

Main Methods:

• Review of clinical, mechanistic, and genetic studies.
• Analysis of polygenic bases for common epilepsies and migraines.
• Examination of rare monogenic disorders like familial hemiplegic migraine with seizure features.

Main Results:

• Migraine is more frequent in epilepsy patients, and vice versa.
• Common forms of both disorders have polygenic inheritance.
• Familial hemiplegic migraine can present with seizures and epilepsy, though not universally.

Conclusions:

• Shared genetic factors likely contribute to the co-occurrence of migraine and epilepsy.
• Further investigation into shared genetic bases is warranted, utilizing advanced computational and genetic approaches.
• Functional studies in monogenic familial hemiplegic migraine cases are needed to elucidate shared mechanisms.