Association between migraine and ACE gene (insertion/deletion) polymorphism: the BioBIM study

Abstract

Aim: In the present case–control study, we investigated the correlation between the common ACE insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and migraine. Materials & methods: Genotyping of the ACE I/D variant was performed in 502 Caucasian patients with migraine and 323 age-, sex- and race/ethnicity-matched healthy controls. We investigated associations between ACE genetic variants and sociodemographic and/or clinical features of migraineurs. Results: We found a significant association between ACE insertion/insertion (I/I) polymorphism and lower use of pharmacological prophylaxis in migraine patients with aura and in those with chronic migraine. Moreover, ACE I/I polymorphism was significantly more common in migraine patients with aura who had a negative family history of migraine. Conclusion: Our data suggest that although the ACE I/D polymorphism is not a direct risk factor for migraine, the ACE I/I genotype may influence the clinical feature of this disease being associated with reduced use of prophylactic agents in patients with migraine with aura and in those with chronic migraine. Original submitted 5 June 2013; Revision submitted 16 September 2013