Migraine and antiphospholipid antibodies: No association found in migraine-discordant monozygotic twins

Abstract

Migraine headache (with and without aura) is common in the general population and is known to be influenced by genetic factors with heritability estimates between 34-57%. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a hypercoagulable state characterized by clinical features including venous and arterial thromboses, pregnancy loss and migraine, and by association with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Numerous small studies have investigated whether aPL are associated with migraine in the general population - with contradictory results. In this study, the question was addressed by studying the prevalence of aPL in members of monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs differing in their migraine status. Such twins provide a unique natural experiment, matched as they are for age, sex and genetic factors, and allow the role of environmental factors, such as aPL, to be determined. Despite 95% power to detect a difference of 0.59 IgG units per litre in anticardiolipin antibody IgG titres, no difference in prevalence of aPL could be detected in migraine-discordant MZ twins. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd.