Defect might be target for new treatments
A new study published in Nature Medicine suggests a flawed gene, which has been found in a family of migraine sufferers, might trigger severe headaches and help scientists understand why one in five people suffers from migraines, the BBC reports. Rated as a leading cause of disability by the World Health Organization, a migraine is a long-lasting headache usually felt as throbbing pain on the front or one side of the head, sometimes preceded by a visual disturbance (or aura). Until now, the genes directly responsible have been unknown, but in this study, a team from the University of Oxford found a gene called TRESK was directly to blame in some patients. If the gene doesn’t work properly, environmental factors can trigger them.