[Clinical importance of magnesium metabolism]

Magnesium is an important cation for the organism. In the cell, magnesium is a cofactor of numerous enzymatic processes, while in the extracellular compartment it is involved in neuromuscular excitation. Various clinical conditions lead to magnesium deficiency, the symptoms of which are highly protean. However, hypermagnesemia results almost exclusively from increased magnesium intake in patients with reduced glomerular filtration. The consequences of such magnesium intoxication are essentially neuromuscular.