J Korean Child Neurol Soc.  2003 Nov;11(2):367-371.

A Case of Familial Hemiplegic Migraine

• Sa-Kong Y
• Lee BH
• Bae SN
• Lee KW
• Nam SO

Abstract

Familial hemiplegic migraine(FHM) is an autosomal dominant subtype of migraine with aura, characterized by the occurrence of hemiplegia during the aura. Two subforms of FHM families exist; pure FHM in 80% and FHM families with cerebellar symptoms in 20%. Half of the known FHM families show genetic linkage to chromosome 19p13, and in these families FHM is caused by missense mutations in a neuronal P/Q type calcium channel alpha-1 subunit gene(CACNA1A gene). Linkages to 1q31 and 1q21-23 have also been established. Other families are linked neither to chromosome 19 nor 1. Clinical variabilities are partially associated with the various types of CACNA1A gene mutations. FHM is distinguished from more frequent migraine types by a clear, dominant inheritance pattern and the relative absense of other headache types. Further investigation of FHM will help to clarify the genetics of more common migraine. We describe a male patient with FHM with a brief review of the literature.

Keyword

Familial hemiplegic migraine; Mutations; CACNA1A gene; Chromosome

MeSH Terms

Calcium Channels
Chromosomes, Human, Pair 19
Epilepsy
Genetic Linkage
Genetics
Headache
Hemiplegia
Humans
Inheritance Patterns
Male
Migraine Disorders
Migraine with Aura*
Migraine without Aura
Mutation, Missense
Neurons
Calcium Channels