Familial hemiplegic migraine type-1 mutated cav2.1 calcium channels alter inhibitory and excitatory synaptic transmission in the lateral superior olive of mice

Towards bridging the translational gap by improved modeling of human nociception in health and disease

Despite numerous studies which have explored the pathogenesis of pain disorders in preclinical models, there is a pronounced translational gap, which is at least partially caused by differences between the human and rodent nociceptive system. An elegant way to bridge this divide is the exploitation of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming into human iPSC-derived nociceptors (iDNs). Several protocols were developed and optimized to model nociceptive processes in health and disease. Here we provide an overview of the different approaches and summarize the knowledge obtained from such models on pain pathologies associated with monogenetic sensory disorders so far. In addition, novel perspectives offered by increasing the complexity of the model systems further to better reflect the natural environment of nociceptive neurons by involving other cell types in 3D model systems are described.

Epilepsy and Migraine Shared Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms: Focus on Therapeutic Strategies

Epilepsy and migraine are both episodic disorders and share clinical as well as pathophysiological mechanisms. The prevalence of epilepsy in migraine patients is generally higher than normal as compared to general population and vice versa. Various environmental risk factors and genetic factors have been reported to be associated with susceptibility of these comorbid diseases. Specific genes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the two diseases. However, the shared genetic susceptibility has not been explored extensively. Previous studies have reported that the alterations in the genes encoding ion channel proteins are common risk factors for both the diseases. The alterations in ion channel-encoding genes CACNAIA (T666M) and SCNIA (Q1489K and L1649Q) have been found to be involved in the development of familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) as well as generalized epilepsy and some cases of focal epilepsy as well. The fact that both these disorders are treated with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) strongly supports common underlying mechanisms. This review has been compiled with an aim to explore the alterations in common genes involved in various pathways regulating neuronal hyperexcitability, a common risk factor for both these conditions. The avenue for future treatment strategies targeting common genes and molecular mechanisms has also been discussed.

Epilepsy and migraine-Are they comorbidity?

Epilepsy and migraine often co-occur. From the clinical symptoms, they often have some signs of symptoms before onset; from the pathogenesis of epilepsy and migraine, both of them have a high degree of neuronal excitement and ion channel abnormalities; in terms of treatment, many antiepileptic drugs are work in migraine. All of this indicates that they interact with each other. But it is undeniable that there are interactions and relationships between them, and there are also some differences such as the different clinical episodes, the different ways of neuronal haperexcitability and the different drug treatment programs. And are they comorbidity? If we can better understand the correlation between seizures and migraines, then this will help develop better guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

The genetic relationship between epilepsy and hemiplegic migraine

Epilepsy and migraine are common diseases of the nervous system and share genetic and pathophysiological mechanisms. Familial hemiplegic migraine is an autosomal dominant disease. It is often used as a model of migraine. Four genes often contain one or more mutations in both epilepsy and hemiplegic migraine patients (ie, CACNA1A, ATP1A2, SCN1A, and PRRT2). A better understanding of the shared genetics of epilepsy and hemiplegic migraine may reveal new strategic directions for research and treatment of both the disorders.

Migraine in the era of precision medicine

Migraine is a common neurovascular disorder in the neurologic clinics whose mechanisms have been explored for several years. The aura has been considered to be attributed to cortical spreading depression (CSD) and dysfunction of the trigeminovascular system is the key factor that has been considered in the pathogenesis of migraine pain. Moreover, three genes (CACNA1A, ATP1A2, and SCN1A) have come from studies performed in individuals with familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM), a monogenic form of migraine with aura. Therapies targeting on the neuropeptids and genes may be helpful in the precision medicine of migraineurs. 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor agonists and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists have demonstrated efficacy in the acute specific treatment of migraine attacks. Therefore, ongoing and future efforts to find new vulnerabilities of migraine, unravel the complexity of drug therapy, and perform biomarker-driven clinical trials are necessary to improve outcomes for patients with migraine.

Association Between Polymorphisms of DRD2, COMT, DBH, and MAO-A Genes and Migraine Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis

Some epidemiological studies have investigated the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of DRD2, COMT, DBH, and MAO-A and migraine susceptibility, but the results are still inconsistent. Thus, our aim was to further assess the association through a meta-analysis.We examined 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 4 genes, including DRD2 rs1799732 and rs6275, DBH rs7239728, MAI-A-VNTR, and COMT rs4680, and performed a meta-analysis of 11 published case-control studies including 3138 cases and 4126 controls. Odd ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to evaluate the association between the 5 genetic polymorphisms and migraine susceptibility.There was no significant relationship between migraine susceptibility and 4 genetic polymorphisms of DRD2 rs1799732 and rs6275, DBH rs7239728, and MAO-A-VNTR. Nevertheless, decreased risk of migraine was observed to be in association with COMT rs4680 polymorphism in overall analysis (AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.60-0.97, PHet > 0.642, I = 0), and in Caucasian group after subgroup analysis (AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.58-0.96, PHet > 0.433, I = 0).Studied polymorphisms of DRD2, DBH, and MAO-A genes may not be associated with migraine susceptibility. However, COMT rs4680 polymorphism may decrease the risk of migraine, especially in Caucasians. The failure to evaluate environmental influence and provide adjusted effect size estimates highlights the need for additional studies in a large number to take these factors into consideration, thus better elucidating the role of the genes tested in migraine.