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Magnesium and its therapeutic uses: a review
1Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
The American Journal of Medicine
|January 1, 1994
Summary
Magnesium therapy shows promise for various conditions like heart disease and asthma. This review covers magnesium
Area of Science:
- Medical therapy
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Magnesium is an effective medical therapy for numerous conditions.
- Its role in ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and asthma is increasingly recognized.
- Magnesium balance, metabolism, and potential mechanisms of action are reviewed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present evidence for magnesium's therapeutic use.
- To review magnesium's physiologic mechanisms, potentially involving calcium and potassium flux.
- To discuss magnesium deficiency, its predisposing factors, and assessment methods.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing evidence and studies on magnesium's efficacy.
- Discussion of hypotheses explaining magnesium's pharmacologic effects.
- Presentation of guidelines for parenteral magnesium administration.
Main Results:
- Magnesium may correct deficiency or exert specific pharmacologic effects.
- Magnesium deficiency is common and influenced by various factors.
- Parenteral magnesium administration shows a low risk of adverse effects, even with high doses.
Conclusions:
- Magnesium is a valuable therapeutic agent for multiple conditions.
- Understanding magnesium's role in deficiency and pharmacologic action is crucial.
- Physicians should consider empiric magnesium replacement in at-risk patients.
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