Phenotypic and genetic analysis of a large family with migraine-associated vertigo

Objectives. - To describe a large multigenerational family with migraine-associated vertigo (MAV) combining a detailed phenotypic and genetic analysis. Background. - Migraine-associated vertigo is said to be highly prevalent in the general population and, like other migraine syndromes, its etiology is felt to have a strong genetic component. However, so far, there have been no reports of large families with MAV. Methods. - Detailed clinical study was conducted on a large multigenerational family with MAV. Genetic study using identical-by-descent analysis with dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays was performed to examine consistent inheritance pattern among the affecteds. Results. - Clinical features of MAV were variable although most had other migraine symptoms with at least some of their attacks. We did not find a region of the genome shared by all eight subjects with MAV indicating a polygenetic inheritance for MAV even in this single large family. Conclusions. - A region on 11q shared by most affected females may contain a susceptibility allele for MAV that is expressed exclusively or predominantly by women.