Impairment of neuromuscular transmission in a subgroup of migraine patients

Neuronal voltage-dependent P/Q Ca2+ channels are genetically abnormal in ma ny cases of familial hemiplegic migraine and possibly associated with the m ore common forms of migraine with and without aura. Besides the brain, thes e channels are found in motor nerve endings where-they control stimulation- induced acetylcholine release. Using single fiber EMG recordings we were ab le to demonstrate subclinical abnormalities of neuromuscular transmission i n a subgroup of patients suffering from migraine with aura. This could be r elated to genetic abnormalities of P/Q Ca2+ channels in certain patients su ffering from migraine with aura, which needs to be explored by proper genet ic analyses. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.