Investigation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene and cholesterol as a risk factor for migraine

• Published in: Journal of the neurological sciences Vol. 227; no. 1; pp. 95 - 100
• Main Authors: Curtain, R., Lea, R.A., Quinlan, S., Bellis, C., Tajouri, L., Hughes, R., MacMillan, J., Griffiths, L.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 15-12-2004; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alleles; Association; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - metabolism; Chromosome 19; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; European Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genotype; Humans; LDLR; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Migraine; Migraine Disorders - classification; Migraine Disorders - genetics; Migraine Disorders - metabolism; Migraine with Aura - genetics; Migraine with Aura - metabolism; Minisatellite Repeats - genetics; Neurology; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Genetic; Receptors, LDL - genetics; Risk Factors; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Chromosome 19; Association; LDLR; Migraine; Cholesterol; Polymorphism; Nervous system diseases; Cardiovascular disease; Lipids; Lipoprotein; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; Pain; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Cerebrovascular disease; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0022-510X; 1878-5883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2004.08.010

The Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor (LDLR) gene is a cell surface receptor that plays an important role in cholesterol homeostasis. We investigated the (TA)n polymorphism in exon 18 of the LDLR gene on chromosome 19p13.2 performing an association analysis in 244 typical migraine-affected patients, 151 suffering from migraine with aura (MA), 96 with migraine without aura (MO) and 244 unaffected controls. The populations consisted of Caucasians only, and controls were age- and sex-matched. The results showed no significant difference between groups for allele frequency distributions of the (TA)n polymorphism even after separation of the migraine-affected individuals into subgroups of MA and MO affected patients. This is in contradiction to Mochi et al. [Mochi M, Cevoli S, Cortelli P, Pierangeli G, Scapoli C, Soriani S, Montagna P. Investigation of an LDLR gene polymorphism (19p13.2) in susceptibility to migrane without aura. J Neurol Sci 2003; 213 (1-2): 7-10.] who found a positive association of this variant with MO. Our study discusses possible differences between the two studies and extends this research by investigating circulating cholesterol levels in a migraine-affected population.