Does anyone know if there is a genetic predisposition for this based on genotype?  Does it run in families?  I am the only one in my family but was wondering if this is something that should be considered when talking about kids?

The odds of getting CH are a tny bit higher if someone in your family has it! But it's not a lot higher then the general public. A couple of people have kids who have them also but the vast majority of people on the board have kids who have no issues with CH. My daughters are 24 and 22 and neither have any inditia of CH.

Guiseppi

My sister and I both have them, both episodic. Just us that I can confirm. We have been told that our great grandmother has "severe" headaches but died long before I was born so no way to verify this info.

Aubmari

No one but Brewcrew (my DH)  has CH in his extended family.  Our son shows no indication of having them, but he'll know what to do if it ever shows its ugly mug in his life.

I've heard stories of my Grandfather having extreme headaches.  Beating his head on the wall ect.  

I don't think he was ever diagnosed with anything.

Could of been CH.

                                                 JPC

Lancet Neurol. 2004 May;3(5):279-83.  


Epidemiology and genetics of cluster headache.

Russell MB.

Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. m.b.russell@klinmed.uio.no

Cluster headache, the most severe primary headache, is characterised by unilateral pain, ipsilateral autonomic features, and, in many cases, restlessness. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the prevalence of cluster headache is about one person per 500. Genetic epidemiological surveys indicate that first-degree relatives are five to 18 times-and second-degree relatives, one to three times-more likely to have cluster headache than the general population. Inheritance is likely to be autosomal dominant with low penetrance in some families, although there may also be autosomal recessive or multifactorial inheritance in others. To date, no molecular genetic clues have been identified for cluster headache. Identification of genes for cluster headache is likely to be difficult because most families reported have few affected members and genetic heterogeneity is likely. Future focus should be on ion channel genes and clock genes. This review summarises the epidemiology and genetics of cluster headache.

Publication Types:
Review

PMID: 15099542 [PubMed]
==================================
Neurology. 2001 May 8;56(9):1233-6.  


Increased familial risk of cluster headache.

Leone M, Russell MB, Rigamonti A, Attanasio A, Grazzi L, D'Amico D, Usai S, Bussone G.

Carlo Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy.

The authors studied the occurrence of cluster headache in the families of 220 Italian patients with cluster headache. A positive family history was found in 20% (44/220) of the families. Compared with the general population, first-degree relatives had a 39-fold significantly increased risk of cluster headache. Second-degree relatives had an eightfold significantly increased risk. The increased familial risk strongly supports the hypothesis that cluster headache has a genetic component in some families.

PMID: 11342697 [PubMed]

When my younger brother started with episodic Clusters in his late twenties, our mother said that the symptoms were startlingly similar to what her father suffered with from his twenties through his early 60’s.

He never had a CH diagnosis in those years, but the horror stories from my mom sure sound like episodic CH’s to me.  

Mine started years after my younger brother and continue on after his have subsided to occasional nuisance hits.

Marc

No one else in my immediate family suffers from clusters.
My sister however gets those migraines which keep her lying in the dark for 48, sometimes 72 hours straight.
My late mother suffered from headaches once in a while, but she hated anything to do with drs so was never diagnosed. They were probably migraines in a mild to medium form.

I seem to remember having read a Danish research to the existence of CH in twins some time ago. Unfortunately I don't have any links, but maybe Bob does?

Pascal.

My father had them as do I. He was episodic and dealt with really long cycles. Both of us seemed to come upon them in our late 20's.

His stopped in his late 50's up until just before he passed away from pancreatic cancer. His cancer treatment seemed to trigger them back in his life at 66.

He never communicated much about them to me, other than what I had seen him go through. Even after I got them he never really talked about them. Then I found this site and started talking about them a bunch with him. He was still uncomfortable in speaking about them but it was good to get some information from him.

I was able to educate myself here but what a great gift to talk to your kids about your experience and set them at ease about what they mean and how they can be overcome - even if by example.

Scott

My sister gets them.  She has been in remission for a few years.  She says though, that she occasionally gets "that feeling like she is going to get one."      My mom had migraines as do my children and several of my nieces and one nephew.  

Jeannie

No one else in my family gets CH, or migraines for that matter.  I'm the only one.  My kid has shown no signs of CH either--and believe me, I've watched for it.   :-/

It seems there is a genetic link, but it is evidently a weak one.  

Best,

George

My dad started @ 50, some 24 years ago, which is the same age i started at.  He usually gets in June, for 30 days, however he has skipped a year here and there.

He would always be able to lay down with them and they would go away, daytime hits, maybe just 1-2 day.  He never explained to us what they were, and i don't think he really knew.  He told us he had "an abundance of testosterone"!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thus, I never really researched it until I started this year, in January.  But mine are very different than his.  He now at 74, getting stubborner by the day, does not want to hear about any of the research, etc, he kinda just 'waves me away"..............

I only hope & pray that neither one of my children get these.................

debs

No one on ether side of the family has had CH as far as I know. There was a question on the survey about it and when the results are out we will better know the genetic correlation.

Roland. 8-)

There was no clusters in our family, until the genetics changed around 1990. I and my sister started clustering in our fifties.


                 [smiley=smokin.gif]

Nope, no one else in my family. Just lucky me.

My grandmother, father and son had/have migraines, but I pulled the short straw and got CH.

Hugs BD

My Pappa had bad headaches and my Daddy had CH. I pray I havent passed it along too.

I'm the only one that I know of who has CH's. :-/

My mom had "bad headaches". I don't remember any of the specifics of her headaches. I do know that she was a fan of imitrex. My mom had lupus, so it's really hard to tell what was auto-immune related vs. a disease process on it's own.