Genetic heterogeneity of migraine with and without aura in Danes cannot be explained by mutation in mtDNA nucleotide pair 11084.

Abstract

Migraine is a genetic heterogeneous disorder. The 11084 A to G base substitution is in the gene for the ND4 subunit of the respiratory complex I, and leads to a Thr to Ala amino acid replacement. This mutation had been found in 25% of Japanese migraineurs, while tension-type headache sufferers and non-migraineurs did not have it. We investigated the importance of this mutation in Danish migraineurs without aura, migraineurs with aura and non-migraineurs from the general population. We did not detect this mutation in Danes. Our result excludes a significant role of this mutation in the etiology of migraine in Denmark, and its absence in non-migraineurs supports that this mutation is rare in non-Japanese populations.