Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and migraine in the Korean population.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association between a serotonin (5-HT) transporter gene polymorphism and migraines in Koreans.


BACKGROUND
The 5-HT metabolism is believed to play an important part in the pathophysiology of migraines, and a polymorphism of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) promoter region might influence 5-HTT expression and serotonin uptake.


METHODS
This study compared 52 patients with migraine and 170 healthy control subjects in order to determine the association between a polymorphism of the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and migraine. Using PCR techniques, the products of the 484-base pair (bp) fragments were denoted as being short alleles (s) and those of 528 bp as being long (l).


RESULTS
The genotype distribution of the healthy controls was s/s (56.5%), s/l (38.2%), and l/l (5.3%) and that of the patients with migraine was 65.4%, 30.8%, and 3.8%, respectively. No significant differences were noted in the genotype and allele frequencies of 5-HTTLPR between the patients with migraine and the control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
A 5-HTTLPR polymorphism does not appear to be involved in the genetic predisposition to migraines.
Kim
Woo-Kyung
WK
Department of Neurology, Hallym University, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul Korea.
Kim
Hyun-Sook
HS
Kim
Won-Joo
WJ
Lee
Kyung-Yul
KY
Park
Hyojin
H
Kim
Chan-Hyung
CH
Kim
Se Joo
SJ
Choi
Young-Chul
YC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins