Blood donation and migraine relief: A national population cohort study in Denmark

INTRODUCTION

Migraine is a prevalent neurological headache disorder. Due to challenges associated with finding effective treatment, many individuals with migraine feel compelled to explore alternative treatment strategies, such as blood donation, hypothesized to provide migraine relief.

METHODS

Through logistic, Poisson, and Cox regression methods, we examined the links between migraine and blood donation activities in two population cohorts: Danish blood donors in the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions Database (SCANDAT-DK, N >1 million) and the Danish Blood Donor Study (N ~ 100,000).

RESULTS

SCANDAT-DK analyses showed no link between migraine and the propensity to become a blood donor among males (odds ratio [OR]Males = 0.95 [95% Confidence Interval: 0.86-1.04], and a reduced propensity among females ORFemales = 0.88 [0.83-0.93]). The incidence of migraine was not reduced upon blood donation (standardized incidence ratio [SIR]Males = 0.94 [0.83-1.06]; SIRFemales = 1.04 [0.99-1.10]). Donors with migraine demonstrated longer intervals between donations (hazard ratio [HR]Males = 0.87 [0.85-0.91], HRFemales = 0.80 [0.78-0.82]), and an increased risk of donor lapse (ORMales = 1.23 [1.14-1.32]; ORFemales = 1.28 [1.22-1.33]). Results were corroborated in DBDS using self-reported migraine. Genetic predisposition to migraine associated with longer intervals in females (HRFemales = 0.98 [0.97-0.99]), but not in males.

DISCUSSION

Our findings do not support the hypothesis that blood donation serves as a viable treatment strategy among migraine patients. Future prospective investigations may help to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms by which blood donation may influence migraine pathology.

Rare variants with large effects provide functional insights into the pathology of migraine subtypes, with and without aura

Migraine is a complex neurovascular disease with a range of severity and symptoms, yet mostly studied as one phenotype in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we combine large GWAS datasets from six European populations to study the main migraine subtypes, migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MO). We identified four new MA-associated variants (in PRRT2, PALMD, ABO and LRRK2) and classified 13 MO-associated variants. Rare variants with large effects highlight three genes. A rare frameshift variant in brain-expressed PRRT2 confers large risk of MA and epilepsy, but not MO. A burden test of rare loss-of-function variants in SCN11A, encoding a neuron-expressed sodium channel with a key role in pain sensation, shows strong protection against migraine. Finally, a rare variant with cis-regulatory effects on KCNK5 confers large protection against migraine and brain aneurysms. Our findings offer new insights with therapeutic potential into the complex biology of migraine and its subtypes.

Cluster Headache Genomewide Association Study and Meta-Analysis Identifies Eight Loci and Implicates Smoking as Causal Risk Factor

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to aggregate data for the first genomewide association study meta-analysis of cluster headache, to identify genetic risk variants, and gain biological insights.

METHODS

A total of 4,777 cases (3,348 men and 1,429 women) with clinically diagnosed cluster headache were recruited from 10 European and 1 East Asian cohorts. We first performed an inverse-variance genomewide association meta-analysis of 4,043 cases and 21,729 controls of European ancestry. In a secondary trans-ancestry meta-analysis, we included 734 cases and 9,846 controls of East Asian ancestry. Candidate causal genes were prioritized by 5 complementary methods: expression quantitative trait loci, transcriptome-wide association, fine-mapping of causal gene sets, genetically driven DNA methylation, and effects on protein structure. Gene set and tissue enrichment analyses, genetic correlation, genetic risk score analysis, and Mendelian randomization were part of the downstream analyses.

RESULTS

The estimated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability of cluster headache was 14.5%. We identified 9 independent signals in 7 genomewide significant loci in the primary meta-analysis, and one additional locus in the trans-ethnic meta-analysis. Five of the loci were previously known. The 20 genes prioritized as potentially causal for cluster headache showed enrichment to artery and brain tissue. Cluster headache was genetically correlated with cigarette smoking, risk-taking behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and musculoskeletal pain. Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a causal effect of cigarette smoking intensity on cluster headache. Three of the identified loci were shared with migraine.

INTERPRETATION

This first genomewide association study meta-analysis gives clues to the biological basis of cluster headache and indicates that smoking is a causal risk factor. ANN NEUROL 2023;94:713-726.

DanMAC5: a browser of aggregated sequence variants from 8,671 whole genome sequenced Danish individuals

OBJECTIVES

Allele counts of sequence variants obtained by whole genome sequencing (WGS) often play a central role in interpreting the results of genetic and genomic research. However, such variant counts are not readily available for individuals in the Danish population. Here, we present a dataset with allele counts for sequence variants (single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and indels) identified from WGS of 8,671 (5,418 females) individuals from the Danish population. The data resource is based on WGS data from three independent research projects aimed at assessing genetic risk factors for cardiovascular, psychiatric, and headache disorders. To enable the sharing of information on sequence variation in Danish individuals, we created summarized statistics on allele counts from anonymized data and made them available through the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA, https://identifiers.org/ega.

DATASET

EGAD00001009756 ) and in a dedicated browser, DanMAC5 (available at www.danmac5.dk ). The summary level data and the DanMAC5 browser provide insight into the allelic spectrum of sequence variants segregating in the Danish population, which is important in variant interpretation.

DATA DESCRIPTION

Three WGS datasets with an average coverage of 30x were processed independently using the same quality control pipeline. Subsequently, we summarized, filtered, and merged allele counts to create a high-quality summary level dataset of sequence variants.

Childhood cancer confers increased risk of migraine - A Danish nationwide register study

BACKGROUND

Investigations of migraine among childhood cancer survivors have predominantly relied on self-reported information and hospital discharge diagnoses. Alone, both approaches are liable to bias. We used Danish nationwide registers to obtain data on both prescriptions of acute migraine medications (antimigraines) and hospital discharge diagnoses of migraine to assess the relative risk of migraine across a wider spectrum of migraine presentations than previously studied.

METHODS

We followed a Danish population-based cohort of 7771 individuals with childhood cancer diagnosed in the period from Jan 1st, 1978 to Dec 31st, 2017, for risk of prescription antimigraine initiation and for risk of hospitalization due to migraine. Rates of hospitalization were assessed for the entire follow-up period whereas rates of antimigraine initiations were assessed in the period from Jan 1st, 1997, to Dec 31st, 2017. Relative to the general population without childhood cancer, standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for each outcome.

RESULTS

Individuals exposed to childhood cancer were at increased risk of antimigraine initiation (SIR of 1.24, 95% CI: 1.11-1.38) and of migraine hospitalization (SIR of 2.44, 95% CI: 1.87-3.12) from the day of their cancer diagnosis and up to 40 years after.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals diagnosed with childhood cancer have a higher risk of migraine of varying presentations, in addition to migraine resulting in hospitalization as previously reported. This potentially preventable problem warrants clinical attention.

Characterization of Familial and Sporadic Migraine

Background

It is unknown whether clinical parameters differ between migraineurs with and without first‐degree family members with migraine.

Objectives

The present cross‐sectional study describes differences between familial and sporadic migraine with a focus on migraine characteristics, migraine severity, comorbidities, and treatment.

Method

From the Danish Headache Center we recruited 358 patients with familial migraine and 1727 patients with sporadic migraine. Each participant was assessed using a validated semi‐structured interview.

Results

No differences in age (Mean = 44 and 44 [SD = 12.28 and 12.58] for familial and sporadic migraineurs, respectively; P = .900) or sex (295/358 (82.4%) and 1413/1727 (81.8%) women in familial and sporadic migraineurs, respectively; P = .853) were found. Familial migraineurs had more aphasic aura than sporadic migraineurs (41% vs 27%, P = .001). Sporadic migraineurs had more lifetime attacks ie, >100 attacks (45% vs 70%, P < .001) and prolonged attacks ie, lasting >72 hours (5% vs 12%, P < .001) than familial migraineurs. Further, sporadic migraineurs had a higher incidence of concussions (37% vs 41%, P = .001) compared to familial migraineurs. In agreement with a previous study, there was no difference between familial and sporadic migraine regarding triptan response (84% vs 81%, P = .440).

Conclusion

Headache characteristics, triptan response, and comorbidities where similar in individulas with and without inherited migraine, suggesting that migraine are to be considered a hmogenoues disease. The difference in the clinical presentation of migraine with aura symptoms among patients with familial migraine should be considered in future studies. Further, more severe migraine among patients with sporadic migraine with aura could suggest that sporadic migraineurs have been exposed to stronger or multiple environmental factors and indicate that an early intervention in migraine treatment could lessen the severity of migraine.