Warning for Migraine With Aura

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Millions of women suffer from migraine with aura -- visual disturbances lasting about 30 minutes that may or may not include head pain. New data shows this may be a warning sign of further health trouble.

In a recent study, researchers found women suffering from migraine with aura who also tested positive for a specific gene variant had more than three times the risk of cardiovascular disease and four times the risk of stroke than women without migraines or the gene variant. The gene variation was in the methyleneterahydrofolate reductase gene.

"This gene by itself does not appear to increase the risk for overall and for specific cardiovascular disease, but rather this research suggests a possible connection between the gene variant and migraine with aura," Tobias Kurth, M.D., Sc.D., with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, was quoted as saying.

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Dr. Kurth said more data is needed before doctors start testing young women suffering from migraine with aura for this gene variation. But he said there are things these women can do now to reduce their risk of future health problems.

"Doctors should try to reduce heart disease risk factors and advise young women who experience migraine with aura not to smoke and to consider birth control pill alternatives as these increase the risk of ischemic vascular problems," Dr. Kurth said.

SOURCE: Neurology, published online July 30, 2008

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