No abstract

The headache associated with medication overuse is variable and often has a peculiar pattern with characteristics shifting, even within the same day, from migraine-like to those of tension-type headache.

No abstract

No abstract

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the most common brain-imaging feature of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), hypertension being the main known risk factor. Here, we identify 27 genome-wide loci for WMH-volume in a cohort of 50,970 older individuals, accounting for modification/confounding by hypertension. Aggregated WMH risk variants were associated with altered white matter integrity (p = 2.5×10-7) in brain images from 1,738 young healthy adults, providing insight into the lifetime impact of SVD genetic risk. Mendelian randomization suggested causal association of increasing WMH-volume with stroke, Alzheimer-type dementia, and of increasing blood pressure (BP) with larger WMH-volume, notably also in persons without clinical hypertension. Transcriptome-wide colocalization analyses showed association of WMH-volume with expression of 39 genes, of which four encode known drug targets. Finally, we provide insight into BP-independent biological pathways underlying SVD and suggest potential for genetic stratification of high-risk individuals and for genetically-informed prioritization of drug targets for prevention trials.

PurposeTo establish a cohort that enables identification of genomic factors that influence human health and empower increased blood donor health and safe blood transfusions. Human health is complex and involves several factors, a major one being the genomic aspect. The genomic era has resulted in many consortia encompassing large samples sizes, which has proven successful for identifying genetic factors associated with specific traits. However, it remains a big challenge to establish large cohorts that facilitate studies of the interaction between genetic factors, environmental and life-style factors as these change over the course of life. A major obstacle to such endeavours is that it is difficult to revisit participants to retrieve additional information and obtain longitudinal, consecutive measurements.ParticipantsBlood donors (n=110 000) have given consent to participate in the Danish Blood Donor Study. The study uses the infrastructure of the Danish blood banks.Findings to dateThe cohort comprises extensive phenotype data and whole genome genotyping data. Further, it is possible to retrieve additional phenotype data from national registries as well as from the donors at future visits, including consecutive measurements.Future plansTo provide new knowledge on factors influencing our health and thus provide a platform for studying the influence of genomic factors on human health, in particular the interaction between environmental and genetic factors.

Plasma levels of CGRP are normal in patients with chronic tension-type headache and are unrelated to headache state. Interictal plasma CGRP was increased in patients with a pulsating pain quality. Because the authors have previously shown a similar increase of interictal CGRP levels in migraine, this study suggests that headaches with symptoms that fulfill International Headache Society criteria for tension-type headache may be pathophysiologically related to migraine, if the headache has a pulsating quality.

No abstract