Magnesium in Parkinson’s disease: an update in clinical and basic aspects

Excerpt

Magnesium (Mg) is essential for cell functions such as transport of calcium and potassium ions, and modulates signal transduction, energy metabolism, and cell proliferation. Several studies elucidated a reduced concentration of Mg in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and experimentally, severe loss of dopaminergic neurons exclusively in the substantia nigra in 1-year-old rats that had been subjected to continuously low Mg intake (one-fifth of the normal level) over generations. A study conducted by the authors revealed a significant and striking effect of Mg to prevent neurite and neuron pathology, and also to ameliorate neurite pathology in a rat Parkinson disease (PD) model involving culture of ventral mesencephalic-striatal cells with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+). Mg is expected to prevent and ameliorate Parkinson’s disease in cases where it would be able to cross into the brain in a suitable way.