Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
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Variability in drug response is a major barrier to the successful treatment of migraine, and most treatments are only optimal in a subset of patients. Although triptans provide the best therapeutic option for the treatment of acute migraine, it has not previously been possible to predict how well patients will respond to a specific triptan or whether they will experience unpleasant adverse events. ⋯ Pharmacogenetics provides the possibility of tailoring the therapeutic approach to individual patients, in order to maximize treatment efficacy while minimizing the potential for unwanted side-effects. This review demonstrates how almotriptan may overcome genetically determined responses by utilizing diverse metabolic pathways to provide therapeutic benefit to many migraineurs.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of the CACNA1A and ATP1A2 gene in a population-based sample of sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM). Patients with SHM (n = 105) were identified in a nationwide search in the Danish population. We sequenced all exons and promoter regions of the CACNA1A and ATP1A2 genes in 100 patients with SHM to search for possible SHM mutations. ⋯ Six of the variants were considered non-pathogenic. The causal role of the two remaining DNA variants is unknown until functional studies have been made or independent genetic evidence is discovered. Only very few DNA variants were identified in 100 SHM patients, and regardless of whether the identified variants are causal the CACNA1A and ATP1A2 genes are not major genes in SHM.