title: Serum and salivary magnesium levels in migraine and tension-type headache. Results in a group of adult patients.
abstract: It has been suggested that magnesium plays a central role in different etiopathogenetic conditions involved in the onset of migraine. We measured, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, serum and salivary magnesium levels in drug-free migraine patients with and without aura and in tension-type headache patients. Migraine sufferers with and without aura and tension-type headache had significantly lower levels of serum and salivary magnesium concentrations in the interical periods than a group of healthy young individuals. Serum magnesium levels tended to be further reduced during attacks in all patient groups studied. A statistically significant decrease in salivary magnesium levels was evident only for migraine patients with aura. Serum magnesium levels and to a lesser extent salivary magnesium levels might express indirectly the lowering of brain extracellular magnesium concentration which occurs in migraine patients both in the intererictal periods and ictally.
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Center for the Study of Headache and Neurotransmitter Disorders, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sarchielli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coata
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Firenze
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morucci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abbritti
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gallai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D008274:Magnesium