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Review
. 2020 Aug 31;12(9):2660.
doi: 10.3390/nu12092660.

Headaches and Magnesium: Mechanisms, Bioavailability, Therapeutic Efficacy and Potential Advantage of Magnesium Pidolate

Jeanette A Maier  1 , Gisele Pickering  2 , Elena Giacomoni  3 , Alessandra Cazzaniga  1 , Paolo Pellegrino  3
Affiliations
Review

Headaches and Magnesium: Mechanisms, Bioavailability, Therapeutic Efficacy and Potential Advantage of Magnesium Pidolate

Jeanette A Maier et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Magnesium deficiency may occur for several reasons, such as inadequate intake or increased gastrointestinal or renal loss. A large body of literature suggests a relationship between magnesium deficiency and mild and moderate tension-type headaches and migraines. A number of double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trials have shown that magnesium is efficacious in relieving headaches and have led to the recommendation of oral magnesium for headache relief in several national and international guidelines. Among several magnesium salts available to treat magnesium deficiency, magnesium pidolate may have high bioavailability and good penetration at the intracellular level. Here, we discuss the cellular and molecular effects of magnesium deficiency in the brain and the clinical evidence supporting the use of magnesium for the treatment of headaches and migraines.

Keywords: BBB; deficiency; headache; magnesium; migraine; pidolate.

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Conflict of interest statement

E.G. and P.P. are employees of Sanofi. A.C. and J.A.M. declare no conflict of interest. G.P. has no conflict of interest related to this publication, but has served on Sanofi advisory boards related to other projects. Sanofi commissioned the review, but had no role in the design of the review or interpretation of data.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic presentation of magnesium homeostasis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanisms involved in migraine and possible role of magnesium. CGRP, circulating calcitonin gene-related peptide; NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartate; NO, nitric oxide.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms

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