Magnesium Project - Brain Diseases

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The Magnesium Project - Brain Diseases

Diseases of the Brain / Central Nervous System

There are a number of studies that have shown that Mg is an important factor in a number of diseases of the central nervous system as well as in peripheral nerves. It is not surprising that this is so since one of the factors in maintaining normal electrical signals along nerve fibers is the active Na-K-Mg-activated ATPase enzyme that catalyzes the movement of Na out of cells and K into cells to establish an electrochemical gradient that produces a voltage difference of approximately -90 millivolts. Without this voltage potential difference, and ionic distribution, there would not be a normal action potential to transmit down a nerve fiber.

In addition to maintaining electrical and physical-chemical gradients, Mg is involved in many other energy-requiring chemical and motor activities of the nerve cell.

The role of Magnesium and Calcium in a number of brain and related neurological diseases has been studied. Some of diseases of particular interest are the following:

Parkinsons's Disease and other neurological diseases
Schizophrenia
Depression
Alzheimer's Disease

Specific indicators to be alert for when dealing with these diseases are the blood electrolyte levels. If the Magnesium level in blood is higher or lower than normal, that condition would be designated as either Hypermagnesemia or Hypomagnesemia respectively. It may also be important to look for abnormal levels of Ca, Na, and K. Often the physiological effects are not only level sensitive but also ratio sensitive. Thus a low Mg may not be as much of a problem for some diseases if the Ca were also low. Similarly, Mg/K and Ca/K and Na/K ratios are often good indicators of impending malfunction as much as the absolute levels, though the later are certainly important. It is also important to keep in mind that a significant portion of the divalent cations are present in a bound state to proteins and other biochemicals. Thus to obtain an indication of the contribution of Ca or Mg to respond to electrochemical gradients, the free ionized form should be measured not just the total amount. Free forms of the cations are presently measured using ion-selective electrodes.

Diseases/conditions that contribute to lower or higher electrolyte levels in the blood and/or tissue are the following:

Kidney and adrenal gland diseases

Parathyroid diseases

Genetic conditions that may be pre-disposing to any of the foregoing conditions are yet to be evaluated. For further treatment of genetics see the Genomics pages.