Multiple Sclerosis and Magnesium

Symptoms that multiple sclerosis (MS) has in common with magnesium deficiency include:

·       muscle spasms

·       weakness

·       twitching

·       muscle atrophy

·       incontinence

·       nystagmus (rapid eye movements)

·       hearing loss

·       osteoporosis

People with MS also have higher rates of epilepsy than controls, which have been linked to magnesium deficiencies.

http://www.nhfw.info/magnesium.html

Magnesium and Epilepsy

In a trial with 30 epileptics 450 mg of magnesium supplied daily successfully controlled seizures. Another study found that the lower the magnesium blood levels the more severe was the epilepsy. In most cases magnesium works best in combination with vitamin B6 and zinc.

Evidence is mounting that low levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.
http://www.magnesiumforlife.com/

In a 1995 paper published in the journal Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, patients with multiple sclerosis were found to be low in cellular magnesium.
Stelmasiak Z, Solski J, Jakubowska B. Magnesium concentration in plasma and erythrocytes in MS. Acta neurologica Scandinavica, 1995 Jul;92(1):109-11

In a 1994 study from researchers at the Department of Physiology, State University of New York randomly selected hospital patients, compared to a control group of health volunteers the hospital patients with coronary heart disease, rectal cancer and multiple sclerosis exhibited extracellular deficits in ionized free magnesium.
Altura BT, Bertschat F, Jeremias A, Ising H, Altura BM. Comparative findings on serum IMg2+ of normal and diseased human subjects with the NOVA and KONE ISE's for Mg2+. Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation. Supplementuml. 1994;217:77-81

In a 1990 paper published by researchers from the Wakayama Medical College, Japan, magnesium (Mg) concentrations were studied in the brains of 4 patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS) and 5 controls. The central nervous system tissues and the visceral organs, except for spleen, of MS patients showed significantly lower magnesium values than that seen in control cases.
Yasui M, Yase Y, Ando K, Adachi K, Mukoyama M, Ohsugi K. Magnesium concentration in brains from multiple sclerosis patients. Acta neurologica Scandinavica. 1990 Mar;81(3):197-200.

In a 1986 paper published in the journal Medical Hypothesis, A group of young patients having MS were treated with dietary supplements containing magnesium, calcium and vitamin D. The results showed a decrease in the relapse rate compared to what would have been expected based on the patients prior history of symptoms.  
Goldberg P, Fleming MC, Picard EH. Multiple sclerosis: decreased relapse rate through dietary supplementation with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. Medical Hypotheses. 1986 Oct;21(2):193-200.

In a case report published in the European Journal of Neurology, a patient with MS treated with oral magnesium glycerophosphate therapy, showed significant improvement after only one week of treatment. 
P. Rossier, S. van Erven and D. T. Wade. The effect of magnesium oral therapy on spasticity in a patient with multiple sclerosis . European Journal of Neurology Volume 7 Page 741 - December 2000 doi:10.1046/j.1468-1331.2000.00142.x Volume 7 Issue 6

Extracted from http://www.nhfw.info/magnesium.html
Transdermal magnesium can also be used to treat the spasms associated with Multiple Sclerosis.