title: Magnesium and brain trauma.
abstract: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of central nervous system (CNS) trauma have shown that intracellular free magnesium (Mg) concentration declines following injury. This fall in free Mg concentration was associated with a decrease in brain total tissue Mg concentration. Declines in both free and total tissue Mg concentration could be prevented or attenuated by treatments targeted to improve neurologic outcome by inhibition of specific injury factors, such as excitatory amino acids and opioid peptides. Furthermore, the extent of these changes in CNS Mg concentration and their attenuation with a diversity of treatments have been correlated to neurologic outcome. As such, it has been proposed that Mg, and in particular the cytosolic free Mg concentration, plays a critical central role in determining the degree of neurologic deficit expressed following a traumatic injury to the CNS. This mini-review will focus on the evidence suggesting that Mg concentration is important in the development of irreversible tissue damage following traumatic brain injury, and will discuss the relative importance of Mg to this process, and its interrelationship with a number of other proposed injury factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vink
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000378:metabolism*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D008274:Magnesium