A simple dietary supplement may not only give relief to some of the more than 400,000 New Zealanders that suffer from the pain of migraine headaches, but may also help to prevent strokes.
That's the view of Victoria University genetic epidemiologist, Dr Rod Lea, who, with colleagues at Brisbane's Griffith University, has discovered a gene that is linked to the most severe and debilitating form of headache, migraine with aura.
About 12 percent or 480,000 New Zealanders are estimated to suffer from migraine headaches with women more likely to be affected by the condition than men. Of those affected, about a quarter suffer from the most debilitating form of the disease, migraine with aura, which is characterised by neurological abnormalities such as blurred vision and unusual sensations flashing across the head. This is often followed by nausea, vomiting and a fear of light and sound, and, of course, headaches.
Dr Lea, from the School of Biological Sciences, says that migraines have long been suspected to have a genetic link since sufferers often had close relatives that also suffered from the condition.
Blood samples were taken from 550 people of which half suffered from migraines. After analysing the DNA, the team discovered that a mutation of a particular gene (Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase) was far more common in those with the migraine with aura than those without.
"We decided to hone in on this gene because it had been implicated in a higher risk for strokes by other researchers and it is known that people who suffer from migraines are at greater risk of having a stroke later in life”.