Magnesium deficiency highlighted in Medscape Review

Since we emphasize the importance for afibbers to be sure they first optimize intracellular magnesium levels, it's encouraging to see recognition and emphasis on the importance of magnesium as it relates to overall health and arrhythmia in this recent Medscape Review
titled The Top 10 Clinical Trends of 2017. Included is a reference to magnesium deficiency as it relates to arrhythmia.

Clip: Trend 2: Magnesium Deficiency

Speculation on the death of a beloved celebrity resulted in the top clinical trend for early 2017. Carrie Fisher—an outspoken mental health advocate, author and actress died a few days after becoming unresponsive while on an airplane. Although nothing is certain, Dr. George Lundberg
Suggested the possibility that chronic magnesium deficiency may have been the cause of her untimely death. He described how low magnesium levels can trigger various cardiac rhythm abnormalities including fatal ones.

Dr. Lundberg explained that regardless of whether magnesium deficiency ultimately contributed to Fisher’s death, it is a serious and commonly-overlooked medical condition that deserves more consideration. Hopefully, the fact that magnesium deficiency is one of the top searches in 2017 is a sign that clinicians are doing just that. (end quote).

Excerpt/quote:

Arrhythmia
The cardiovascular effects of magnesium deficiency include effects on electrical activity, myocardial contractility, potentiation of digitalis effects, and vascular tone. Epidemiologic studies also show an association between magnesium deficiency and coronary artery disease (CAD).

Hypomagnesemia is now recognized to cause cardiac arrhythmia. [40, 41] Changes in electrocardiogram findings include prolongation of conduction and slight ST depression, although these changes are nonspecific. Patients with magnesium deficiency are particularly susceptible to digoxin-related arrhythmia. Intracellular magnesium deficiency and digoxin excess act together to impair Na+/K+ -ATPase. The resulting decrease in intracellular potassium disturbs the resting membrane potential and repolarization phase of the myocardial cells, enhancing the inhibitory effect of digoxin. Intravenous magnesium supplementation may be a helpful adjunct when attempting rate control for atrial fibrillation with digoxin. [42]

Non–digitalis-associated arrhythmias are myriad. The clinical disturbance of greatest importance is the association of mild hypomagnesemia with ventricular arrhythmia in patients with cardiac disease. At-risk patients include those with acute myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure, or recent cardiopulmonary bypass, as well as acutely ill patients in the intensive care unit. [40]

The ionic basis of the effect of magnesium depletion on cardiac arrhythmia may be related to impairment of the membrane sodium-potassium pump and the increased outward movement of potassium through the potassium channels in cardiac cells, leading to shortening of the action potential and increasing susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmia. [43]

Torsade de pointes, a repetitive, polymorphous ventricular tachycardia with prolongation of the QT interval, has been reported in conjunction with hypomagnesemia, and the American Heart Association recommends that magnesium sulfate be added to the regimen used to manage torsade de pointes or refractory ventricular fibrillation.

40 Kelepouris E, Agus ZS. Hypomagnesemia: renal magnesium handling. Semin Nephrol. 1998 Jan. 18(1):58-73. [Medline].
41 Khan AM, Lubitz SA, Sullivan LM, Sun JX, Levy D, Vasan RS. Low serum magnesium and the development of atrial fibrillation in the community: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2013 Jan 1. 127(1):33-8. [Medline].
42 Ho KM, Sheridan DJ, Paterson T. Use of intravenous magnesium to treat acute onset atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis. Heart. 2007 Nov. 93(11):1433-40. [Medline]. [Full Text].
43 Agus ZS, Morad M. Modulation of cardiac ion channels by magnesium. Annu Rev Physiol. 1991. 53:299-307. [Medline].

Source: [reference.medscape.com]
Item #10 and then more on Mg deficiency.

References to Magnesium Deficiency Research
[search.medscape.com]
Hypomagnesemia Clinical Presentation
Updated: Jun 16, 2017
•Author: Tibor Fulop, MD, FASN, FACP; Chief Editor: Vecihi Batuman, MD, FASN more...

Abnormalities of magnesium levels, such as hypomagnesemia, can result in disturbances in nearly every organ system and can cause potentially fatal complications (eg, ventricular arrhythmia, coronary artery vasospasm, sudden death). (See Pathophysiology.) Despite the well-recognized importance of magnesium, low and high levels have been documented in ill patients, [1] as a result of which, magnesium has occasionally been called the "forgotten cation." [2, 3] …. [emedicine.medscape.com]


Jackie

This is all great reading but doesn't always work, we on this board take magnesium yet we still have AF, most here have had an ablation because magnesium just doesn't do it.

Liz

Magnesium is only a helper.

I’ve had an ablation myself, and afterwards I was plagued by ectopics for nearly a year. It was only careful supplementation, specifically with the most bio-available forms of Mg that I finally got back to “normal”. It’s a careful combination of the two - medical and supplementation - that in my opinion leads to the best result.

And, just having seen “The Last Jedi”, how I will miss Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa. And Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. That was their swan song, one planned and the other not.

Great movie but Carrie Fisher was also on drugs, maybe mag. would have helped her and maybe not.

Hans, hope you make an exception because i'm really interested if it interferes with Mg in us (particularly afibbers)???[because he said that all F discussion will be deleted]

Any biochemists out there?

Ben Sellinger &Russell Barrow (Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University / Associate Professor in the Research School of Chemistry at the ANU)
Write in their book 'Chemistry in the Market Place' sixth Edition p 276

Quote

Sodium fluoride (NaF) and cryolite (Na3AIF6) liberate fluoride ions, which precipitates Mg2+ as fluorophosphate and upsets magnesium dependent enzymes. They are used in non-specific insecticides that are toxic to animals

Would NaF by itself precipitate Mg2+ in mamals????

Hans hasn't posted in awhile, maybe back in 2013. What is "F"? Are you talking about Floridation?
So the question is, Does Floridation in our Water supplies interfere with the function of Mg?

Yes, that is the question. If it does it would be a real problem long term where there is added fluoride.

Quote
Elizabeth
Great movie but Carrie Fisher was also on drugs, maybe mag. would have helped her and maybe not.

Oh, yes. Started in her teens. As much as I loved the character, it was remarkable how she physically changed. She was 19 at the time of the original 1977 Star Wars film and by 1983's "Return of the Jedi" she looked more like a 40-year old!

I don't mean to suggest that Mg could reverse a lifetime of self-abuse. There's no way. You've got to take care of yourself.

No wolfpack It wasn't what you said, it was this post:

Speculation on the death of a beloved celebrity resulted in the top clinical trend for early 2017. Carrie Fisher—an outspoken mental health advocate, author and actress died a few days after becoming unresponsive while on an airplane. Although nothing is certain, Dr. George Lundberg
Suggested the possibility that chronic magnesium deficiency may have been the cause of her untimely death. He described how low magnesium levels can trigger various cardiac rhythm abnormalities including fatal ones.

I don't know who this doctor is but that is a rather dumb statement: Carrie Fisher took Cocaine, that drug is know to damage the heart muscle.

Liz

Sorry this generated such a firestorm of interest about Carrie Fisher. I should have edited that part out and focused on the point of the post which was that finally, the importance of magnesium was a popular search in 2017.... about time, considering its overall importance.

Jackie

Joe - fluoride from all sources is always a health problem.

There are many reliable resources that go into the details starting with [fluoridealert.org] and what fluoride awareness advocate, David Kennedy, DDS has to say at this collection of links: [www.google.com]

Jackie

It is too long to quote all the answers to questions put to him in 1943 so i just mention a few points.
He is saying whether fluoride is beneficial or detrimental to our body depends on other minerals being present.

Quote

But where there is iron or sulphur or [magnesium, be careful.
To perfectly understand it would be preferable to understand these:
There are areas within the United States - such as in some portions of Texas, portions of Arizona, others in Wyoming - where the teeth are seldom ever decayed. Study the water there, the quantity of fluorine there, the lack of iron, or sulphur or the proportions of sulphur; that is in the regular water.
There are many sections, of course, where fluorine added to the water, with many other chemicals would be most beneficial. There are others where, even a small quantity added would be very detrimental.....

Somehow i'm trying to come to grips how the widespread Mg deficiencies come about. Is it a lack of intake or what we consume is bound up by other chemicals/minerals we consume.

Would be nice to find studies showing interactions Edgar Casey pointed to.

Quote
Joe
Somehow i'm trying to come to grips how the widespread Mg deficiencies come about. Is it a lack of intake or what we consume is bound up by other chemicals/minerals we consume.

Neither. It's due to decades of modern farming practices, which have depleted soils of Mg. Fruits and vegetables grown in the 1930s contained significantly more Mg than they do now.

Quote
Carey

Neither. It's due to decades of modern farming practices, which have depleted soils of Mg. Fruits and vegetables grown in the 1930s contained significantly more Mg than they do now.

A US Geologic Survey “heat map” of Mg concentration in North American soil. The Southeast ranks low.

[mrdata.usgs.gov]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2017 08:02PM by wolfpack.

A 2012 study indicates researchers have detected more than 3,750 magnesium-binding sites on human proteins. This could eventually lead to an understanding of why some individuals are more prone to atrial fibrillation….and obviously, many more ailments as well.

Jackie


[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]


BMC Bioinformatics. 2012;13 Suppl 1410. doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-13-S14-S10. Epub 2012 Sep 7.
The human "magnesome": detecting magnesium binding sites on human proteins.
Piovesan D1, Profiti G, Martelli PL, Casadio R.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Magnesium research is increasing in molecular medicine due to the relevance of this ion in several important biological processes and associated molecular pathogeneses. It is still difficult to predict from the protein covalent structure whether a human chain is or not involved in magnesium binding. This is mainly due to little information on the structural characteristics of magnesium binding sites in proteins and protein complexes. Magnesium binding features, differently from those of other divalent cations such as calcium and zinc, are elusive. Here we address a question that is relevant in protein annotation: how many human proteins can bind Mg2+? Our analysis is performed taking advantage of the recently implemented Bologna Annotation Resource (BAR-PLUS), a non hierarchical clustering method that relies on the pair wise sequence comparison of about 14 millions proteins from over 300.000 species and their grouping into clusters where annotation can safely be inherited after statistical validation

RESULTS:
After cluster assignment of the latest version of the human proteome, the total number of human proteins for which we can assign putative Mg binding sites is 3,751. Among these proteins, 2,688 inherit annotation directly from human templates and 1,063 inherit annotation from templates of other organisms. Protein structures are highly conserved inside a given cluster. Transfer of structural properties is possible after alignment of a given sequence with the protein structures that characterise a given cluster as obtained with a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based procedure. Interestingly a set of 370 human sequences inherit Mg2+ binding sites from templates sharing less than 30% sequence identity with the template.

CONCLUSION:
We describe and deliver the "human magnesome", a set of proteins of the human proteome that inherit putative binding of magnesium ions. With our BAR-hMG, 251 clusters including 1,341 magnesium binding protein structures corresponding to 387 sequences are sufficient to annotate some 13,689 residues in 3,751 human sequences as "magnesium binding". Protein structures act therefore as three dimensional seeds for structural and functional annotation of human sequences. The data base collects specifically all the human proteins that can be annotated according to our procedure as "magnesium binding", the corresponding structures and BAR+ clusters from where they derive the annotation (http://bar.biocomp.unibo.it/mg).
PMID:23095498
PMCID: PMC3439678
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-13-S14-S10