Neurocognitive Considerations and Impacts in Chronic Migraines

Migraine, characterized by moderate-to-severe headache, may arise from neurological, psychological, orthopedic, metabolic, or endocrine origins. Pain associated with migraine, while commonly cited as the primary patient concern, only represents a small portion of short- and long-term effects caused by the condition. Many presenting cases include neuromuscular dysfunction, increased neuronal firing, inflammation, and cortical spreading depression. These effects can induce multiple symptoms such as pain, aura, brain fog, confusion, hangover, multiple hypersensitivities, and decreased memory capacity. These effects and symptoms can lead to neurocognitive and neuropsychological deficiencies in many patients. This study aims to investigate the relationship between migraines and neurocognitive function

Investigating the Genetics of Chronic Intractable Migraine with Reactive Hypoglycemia

Migraines affect roughly 1-in-6 males and 1-in-5 females in the United States. Of these, approximately 5-30% experience intractable migraines, or migraines resistant to abortive treatments. Despite this large population, relatively little is known about intractable migraines compared to other types of migraines. Our recent work indicates that reactive hypoglycemia is common among these individuals. Additionally, empirical evidence suggests that individuals in families with chronic intractable migraines are more likely to have the same condition than people of the general population, suggesting a possible genetic link between both migraines and metabolic abnormalities. Previous Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have found several genetic markers for migraines, but the studies have not differentiated groups by important factors including severity and frequency of migraines or treatment response. Furthermore, GWA studies investigate only common variation. Despite these limitations, a variant in the LEPR gene (rs751167), the leptin receptor gene was found to be significantly associated with migraines. Variants in the LEPR gene are associated with weight gain and metabolic syndrome, indicating a link between metabolism and migraines. In the present study, we aim to broaden the scope, investigating chronic intractable migraine with reactive hypoglycemia specifically, and using all variant types including small insertions/deletions, rare variants, and copy number variants. To investigate heritability, we will take pedigrees of individuals that fit this phenotype