MAGNESIUM CONTENT OF MONONUCLEAR BLOOD-CELLS IN MIGRAINE PATIENTS

Recent research has shown that magnesium levels in serum, salivary sec retions and red blood cells are reduced in migraine patients with and without aura, both ictally and interictally. This suggests that lower magnesium levels can contribute to the etiopathogenetic mechanisms und erlying migraine attacks. It has been suggested that mononuclear magne sium content is a reliable index of magnesium nutritional status, as i t is more closely related to the total body stores than other biochemi cal indices. Therefore we determined mononuclear magnesium content in adult migraine patients with and without aura, in headache-free period s and, in a number of patients, during attacks. Migraine patients with and without aura, assessed in interictal periods, had a reduced monon uclear magnesium content compared to age-matched healthy control subje cts. No significant variations were observed between ictal and interic tal periods in migraine patients with aura and without aura. The lower magnesium content in mononuclear cells could indirectly indicate the reduction of brain magnesium concentration, which has recently been de monstrated in the course of migraine.