Sodium channel therapy may fight migraines

NASHVILLE, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they may have found clues to the biological basis of migraine headaches suffered by 15 percent to 20 percent of people worldwide.

By studying a rare, inherited form of migraine, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center led by Dr. Alfred George Jr. determined genetic mutations linked to the rare form of familial migraine alter the function of sodium channels -- protein "tunnels" through brain cell membranes involved in the electrical conduction of nerve impulses.

George and colleagues said their findings identify cellular events that might prompt migraines -- specifically the aura that precedes them -- and suggest that medications targeting sodium channels might warrant a closer look as potential treatments for some forms of migraine.

The research is reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.