Int. article on magnesium

[Guest guest]

Sorry I do not have the original link- This was emailed to me this

way- Nonetheless, I believe you can find the original website and

the Dr. from this article.

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Wayne was only four years old, but he had been suffering epileptic

seizures for 3 1/2 years. Though the seizures were particularly

severe during stress periods, he was never completely free of them.

Anticonvulsant drugs were used, but none was successful. The boy's

parents were resigned to the probability that he would have a life

plagued with severe epilepsy.

At that time Dr. B. Barnett, head of the Hereford Clinic and

Deaf Research Foundation in Hereford, Texas, began a series of

experiments. The boy became a subject. He was given, in addition to

a normal diet, 450 mg. of magnesium gluconate and a thyroid extract.

Within two weeks all signs of epilepsy vanished, and within the past

three years there have been no signs of the illness.

Is It Magnesium Deficiency?

In 28 more cases, the same story has been repeated. Children of all

ages, stricken with epilepsy failed to respond or responded only

slightly to modern drugs and therapy. Placed on high oral doses of

magnesium, they experienced stunning improvement.

Barnett did not start out to investigate a relationship between

magnesium and epilepsy. He says, " My original work was directed

toward the role of magnesium in bone apatite, and while

investigating that field, it became obvious that magnesium might

play a vital role in the physiology of the central nervous system. "

He studied the relatively few reports in medical literature

concerned with the mineral, and found one by , Meke, and

Wertman. These researchers reported that in a state of epilepsy

there is a deficiency of magnesium in the blood.

Children who definitely suffered from epilepsy were used in the

Hereford study. First, their blood magnesium levels were

established. In all cases, the levels were below normal, supporting

the findings of , Meke, and Wertman. Next Barnett decided to

correct the deficiency by giving oral magnesium preparations. " It

was hoped that the magnesium supplement would control the seizures, "

he told us in an interview.

Within a matter of weeks the blood magnesium level returned to

normal, and in every case, except one there was definite clinical

improvement.

" After reviewing most of the literature, " Mr. Barnett says, " not

very extensive according to references, it became obvious to me that

very little work had been done in this most important and extremely

active mineral--especially in its relation to the physiology of the

central nervous system. "

In his experiments, Barnett used magnesium gluconate, a form of

magnesium which is easily absorbed by the system. 'Taken orally in

this form, magnesium is harmless in almost any quantity, " he

reports. " The worst that can occur is that some individuals will

become drowsy. "

This tendency toward causing drowsiness is one of the key properties

of the mineral.

Spine Concentrates Magnesium

It has been known for many years that magnesium is an analgesic. It

is found both in the blood and in the spinal fluid, and is the only

electrolyte found in higher concentration in the spinal fluid than

in the blood. This is an important fact for two reasons:

First, testing for a deficiency of magnesium in the spinal fluid is

easily done by taking a blood test and deciding what the magnesium

level in the blood is. Scientists have found that the lower the

blood level, the lower the spinal fluid level.

Second, the reason for the high magnesium content in the spinal

fluid is that the mineral is necessary for balancing the stimulant

effect of body hormones. The purpose of thyroid, gonadal, adrenal

and other hormones is to charge up or excite the body. Magnesium and

some other substances tend to slow down and relax the system, thus

regulating the hormones and achieving a happy medium.

When magnesium deficiencies occur--and there are a number of reasons

why this can happen--there is no regulation. Among the dangerous

results of this state listed in medical literature are heart damage,

osteoporosis, periodontal disease, and epilepsy. Another is

hyperirritability. " A great many people have a magnesium deficiency

manifesting itself in hyperirritability, " Barnett said. These people

may often have a metabolic rate 125 percent higher than normal, he

says.

Their bodies and minds are greatly overactive, and they are

constantly irritated. This is undoubtedly a partial explanation for

the high rate of juvenile delinquency, divorce, and emotional

instability rampant in modem society.

Pituitary Gland Important

A magnesium deficiency, according to Barnett, is a prime cause of

the three million clinical and 10 to 15 million subclinical epilepsy

cases now in this country. Deficiency may occur not from a lack of

magnesium in the diet but because of malfunctioning of the pituitary

gland. As far back as 1952, researchers observed that people

suffering a magnesium deficiency had reactions similar to those in

people who had had the Pituitary gland removed. The reason for this

is not hard to understand.

The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, is believed,

to regulate the functions of all the other glands of the body. It is

the gland through which magnesium works as a prime component of

pituitary secretions to regulate the functioning of the other

glands. If magnesium is not available or the pituitary is not

functioning properly, the body will suffer symptoms of a magnesium

deficiency or a pituitary malfunction, depending on how you look at

it. (It must also be pointed out that fluoride bonds with magnesium

in the blood, into the insoluble magnesium fluoride. This means that

the magnesium cannot be assimilated by the pituitary, with the

consequent failure of the pituitary to function properly that leads

to the symptoms of magnesium deficiency.)

Milk Depletes Magnesium

The first step in treating the symptoms of magnesium depletion,

especially among children, is to eliminate milk from the diet,

according to Dr. Barnett. He reports that nine out of ten childhood

epileptics drink milk. Calciferol (synthetic vitamin D), Re

fluorine, tends to bind the magnesium, be says. Milk is loaded with

this substance and therefore enhances the problem. The synthetic

form of the vitamin is 10 times more active than the natural form--

which means it is 10 times more potent in binding magnesium. For

this reason the natural vitamin, as found in fish liver oils, will

not cause magnesium depletion, but milk can and does.

The second step, though new to medicine, is " old hat' to ranchers.

Green grass tetany, the cattle equivalent of human

hyperirritability, costs ranchers about a half billion dollars a

year. This problem can be effectively treated only by adding

magnesium to the animal's diet, but this must be done before the

disease reaches serious proportions.

According to Barnett, this same therapy is often effective in

humans. He considers dolomitic limestone an excellent form of the

mineral.

Although compared to the early days of Barnett's research there have

recently been many studies done on magnesium, its relation to

epilepsy treatment has been largely ignored. Barnett hopes that now

his studies will lead to other clinical experiments, and that

eventually doctors will be able to control many cases of epilepsy

without using depressant drugs. " By balancing their physiological

state, with special emphasis on intracellular chemistry, an easier

and finer control of these unfortunate individuals may be possible, "

he said.

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This page was first uploaded to The Magnesium Web Site on January 3,

2001