Genetic variants associated with migraine without aura are reported in a study this week in Nature Genetics.

Migraine without aura is the most common form of migraine, a disabling episodic neurovascular brain disorder affecting 12% of the general population. Migraine with neurological aura symptoms occurs in approximately one-third of cases.

Arn van den Maagdenberg, Aarno Palotie, Tobias Freilinger and colleagues report a genome-wide association study in 2,326 clinic-based German and Dutch individuals with migraine without aura and 4,580 population-matched controls. They identify two genomic regions significantly associated with migraine without aura. The authors also replicate associations at two loci previously associated with migraine in general (not specified for migraine subtype), suggesting a shared genetic basis.