Friday, July 16, 2010

Magnesium's affect on dementia

Normalizing brain levels of magnesium may help fight deposition of aggregated beta-amyloid as seen in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to the July issue of Journal Alzheimer Disease.

Researchers observed magnesium's affect on many neurological processes, and previous studies have shown low magnesium levels in Alzheimer’s patients. In this in vitro study, the team examined the effects of physiological, low and high concentrations of extracellular magnesium on processing of the precursor to Abeta and Abeta secretion. They found the effects on processing to be both time- and dose-dependent, with higher levels supporting retention of the precursor on plasma membrane, while low levels upped the secretion of Abeta in the system. Further, decreased total intracellular magnesium levels impaired cell viability, which could be restored by readjusting magnesium levels to the physiological level.

Bonnie - while just an in vitro study, I do not need a double blind to know the importance of magnesium in protecting the brain from a host of outside agitators.

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