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Brain may take an acid trip into migraines  A mutation in a gene
that controls local pH in the brain has been linked to a …
Migraines remain poorly understood and, partly as a consequence,
we have little in the way of effective treatments. Although
increased activity in the brain—both increased blood flow and
elevated firing by nerve cells—has been implicated, the
connection between those phenomena and the symptoms remains
obscure. Now, researchers have identified a new gene that is
mutated in individuals that have inherited a migraine disorder,
and identified yet another factor that can contribute to
migraines.  The gene was isolated in patients that had both
severe migraines, and a set of other disorders (glaucoma, kidney
disorders) that have been associated with loss of a protein, the
sodium-bicarbonate cotransporter (SLC4A4), that shuffles ions
across cell membranes. Because its targets include bicarbonate,
which can buffer against pH changes, s