Guest guest Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 Howdy (and I'm a suth'ner and was born in NY, go figure......I spent the last 20 years in NC) Excess calcium, aka free calcium, in the body, is more responsible for heart disease than cholesterol. All those poor women popping 1000mg+calcium tabs per day as per their ignorant MD's advice are just contributing to heart disease. Diseases made or worsened by excess calcium? Heart, arthritis, kidney, etc., etc. Everything in moderation, folks, including the wrongly-touted 'natural' stuff like calcium...and vitex.. couldn't resist. Here's a link to a google quickie search i did for " excess calcium " heart disease: http://tinyurl.com/3cwb2 I am glad that the list marm said we could post opinions because I have a strong one on the above link. I must be an educated fool with 6 years of Pharmacy school and 3.8 years of Chiropractic College with a year post doc in research. I practiced pharmacy for 10 years and chiropractic, 9 so far. I won't even go into the military training but if you have received a gunshot wound you want to have me around (fact not bragging...ah yes Fort Bragg). With that out of the way I will commence to the root of the matter. In my studies, plain Calcium supplementation is not wise. I believe it causes more kidney stones than heart disease. I haven't done a recent Pub Med search (I have to work for a living). Calcium supplementation is necessary and in the right proportions, safe, at least from what I have studied and experience using it (over the past 15 years). The above link touts hucksters trying cram their brand of coral calcium down the throats of innocent folks. You think GY and YL are bad, investigate the coral calcium theives. Indiscrimantly putting out a google search claiming it to be gospel is more of a crime than an ignorant MD. This whole search is 'wrongly touted!' The very first link is to some bogus research medical group (or is it grope?). That link smelled worse than a polecat in a burlap bag. Because it says research medical group, it is to be believed? Horse feathers!! 'Take my coral calcium and you will be cured.' My investigation into coral calcium shows that the lead and mercury levels contained therein are too high. I have had some experience with it and cannot say it has been good. Patient 1 took Coral Calcium 'just like the brochure said.' He had some soft tissue injury (muscle) and it just wasn't getting better. He also was suffering from recent severe gastric upset. After I told him the Coral Calcium might not be a good idea, he quit taking it. Hmmm...he was better in 2 weeks and discharged from care. Now I didn't tell him to quit taking Calcium. I told him to go to Sam's Club (or Costco) and purchase their Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc with Vitamin D. His muscle spasms and pain dropped down to zero from 3 months of agony. Patient 2 had liver cancer. She had been a patient for 3 years and we went through the Essiac tea and high dose vitamin C and my version of chiropractic adjustments using myofascial release. The MD was astounded that this woman had no sign of cancer after one year and she was 85 yo. Well someone at ther church (and I'm not slamming religion, it just sounds like YL, hooking the church folks) told her that she should take coral calcium instead of that other 'junk'. She died in 3 months after starting the coral calcium, complications due to liver cancer. The tumor returned with a vengence. Anyone want some coral calcium? Calcium balanced with magnesium and vitamin D is necessary this day in time unless you home garden. There is no way to get enough Calcium from your diet. I don't want to go into this in detail, I don't care for milk sources except yogurt and highly reccommend vegtable sources( or sardines). I also reccommend the inexpensive Cal, Mag, Zinc with Vitamin D you can purchase. Recently there has been discussion about restless leg syndrome in this group. I don't claim to be an expert but I have seen many cases of it. I work with many women in their late 40's and 50's (my age) and they have the 'change of life challenges' Not only hot flashes but restless leg problems. The best thing I have found for the restless leg syndrome is the Cal Mag Zinc with Vit D. I have sold hundreds of bottle of Quinine capsules, Vit E, some Dr. Schol's supplement and nothing seemed to work. Most folks take 3 tablets (1800 mg Ca) before going to bed and an empty stomach. That seems to put an end to it but not for all folks. There is also something to do with hot flashes and hormonal dysrhythmia and restless legs. I haven't quite figured it out. So if the restless legs persist, I will have them take a 350 mg ferrous sulfate tablet as well (and a good B multiple from Vitamin World). For resistant restless leg, Vitex seems to help as well. Now I'm not touting and saying all you folks should start sniffin' Vitex for restleg legs. I have seen it work and folks should know about it and perhaps try it after using the Calcium supplement trial. My Dad taught me that hucksters (he calls me Huck) have 'something good for moles, sore holes and elbows.' I don't think Vitex fits here and I don't think folks sharing about their experience with Vitex are hucksters. I think of hucksters as those slimy snake oil salesmen (any one remember Hadacol and Hank Williams Sr?), NOT Butch Owen. There was only one scientifically valid (in my opinion) link from that search. I saw it as a gimic to get some money to study a new drug to prevent post MI cardiac arrthymias. Folks that survive heart attacks have a high rate of succumbing to these. Of course I am sure there is someone out there with more experience in CaM Kinase and developing a drug to blocks it's actions in post MI arrythmias. By the way, this has nothing to do with taking too much calcium !!! In my investigation of those links on the first page, none seem to demonstrate the point that Calcium supplementation is BAD FOR YOU as inferred from this post. I can argue the point on free calcium in the body. I want to see the peer reviewd research establishing that as fact. Our bodies have a homeostatic mechanism (I can go into great detail on this but it would bore most of you and I don't have enough room or time) It maintains a CONSTANT calcium level in your blood. Your brain needs a certain amount of Calcium to function. Your body will leech calcium out of your bones to maintain this level. Anyone care for another Coke or soda (phosphoric acid)? Taking a balanced calcium supplement is the wise way to approach calcium supplementation. Again, nothing is cast in stone. It takes some fine tuning and that is where your holistic health care practitioner comes in. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet. I hope this will help clear up any confusion. Lord knows I am no expert and do not claim to be. I just share my education and experience to help folks increase thier quality of life. My Dad also told me a good one about opinions and another anatomical feature that stinks. Dr. Chuck PS: Isn't the TYPE of calcium crucial to its usefulness? Like I've always been told that calcium carbonate (the stuff found in Tums and the like) is total crap as far as the body is concerned and it is one of the least absorbable kinds, and it shouldn't be taken. As I understand it is best to go for calcium citrate instead, and to always take it with magnesium, preferably in a 1:1 ratio .... what do you think about that? You make an excellent point and you are right about the absorption. Calcium citrate is the most absorbable (bioavailable) and Mag should be taken 1:1 because of this increase in bioavailablity. I also look at the expense factor. Many folks are not willing to pay for their health and balk at the Calcium citrate price. They will go to Sam's club or Costco and pick a bottle of CaMgZn, 600 tabs for 6 bucks. BTW, Calcium gluconate is the best and there is no way anyone can afford that one! If they take the Ca at night on an empty stomach more will be absorbed. Because of the poor absorption of Ca Carbonate, one must double the Ca content, therefore the 2:1 ratio. Actually if you take 1 gram of Vit C with the Ca at night, it will increase the absorption, ie, you need an acidic medium for calcium ion absorption. Some one will argue that you should take Ca with a meal for the increase stomach acid (and increase of Ca ion production) due to digestion. True, however many of the intestinal 'transfer pumps' are limited due the massive amounts of substances available to transfer during digestion. So theoretically there is more Ca ion but no way to get it in the bloodstream. A lot of it is passive transfer and those 'holes' get plugged easily too, concentration being the rate limiting step. So when I looked at the solution (I hate problems), I see that yes Calcium Carbonate is absobed less but folks won't pay for the more bioavailable product. The worst Ca one can take is the Os-cal that has the oyster shell Ca carbonate; one can see those green things in their stool. Good topic and I am open to any information sources you may have that I don't or haven't seem. I love to read and learn. We're here to serve and learn from each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 In a message dated 2/23/2004 12:09:42 PM Pacific Standard Time, mccoy writes: > (I also have citations on folic acid deficiency causing RLS, but this post > is a huge puppy at this point, so I'll end it here :-) > > THANK GODS FOR THAT! I just love the sarcastic and typically snippy, knowitallish, sarcastic opinions so willingly expressed on every subject from farting to self impalement that we get at every turn. Back to ignoring the wealth of rubbish that is spouted out by the writer at any given moment as an effort to inflate her own ego. K Cheers! Kathleen Petrides The Woobey Queen Woobeys: The Loving Touch Therapeutic Pillow http://www.woobeyworld.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 At 06:16 PM 2/21/2004 -0800, you wrote: Anya wrote: (just slipping in the reference here): >Excess calcium, aka free calcium, in the body, is more >responsible for heart disease than cholesterol. All those poor women >popping 1000mg+calcium tabs per day as per their ignorant MD's advice are >just contributing to heart disease. > >Diseases made or worsened by excess calcium? Heart, arthritis, kidney, >etc., etc. Everything in moderation, folks, including the wrongly-touted >'natural' stuff like calcium...and vitex.. couldn't resist. >Here's a link to a google quickie search i did for " excess calcium " heart >disease: >http://tinyurl.com/3cwb2 Dr. Chuck rejoined the group to post: >I am glad that the list marm said we could post opinions because I have a >strong one on the above link. >I must be an educated fool with 6 years of Pharmacy school and 3.8 years of >Chiropractic College with a year post doc in research. I practiced pharmacy >for 10 years and chiropractic, 9 so far. I won't even go into the military >training but if you have received a gunshot wound you want to have me around >(fact not bragging...ah yes Fort Bragg). With that out of the way I will >commence to the root of the matter. Now don't call yourself a fool, or we'll have to suggest oils to increase your self-esteem :-) Just for the record, and this is just my laywoman's perspective, could you confirm that nutrition and the use of supplements is taught in either pharmacy of chiropractic college? I was under the opinion it isn't (isn't in medical school, either). I know several naturopaths who are always PO'd at chiropractors that sell and instruct their patients on supplements. PO'd big time, but that's their business, and they try to protect their turf, so I really have no idea if chrios are/should suggest supplements. Mine never have. >In my studies, plain Calcium supplementation is not wise. I believe it >causes more kidney stones than heart disease. I haven't done a recent Pub >Med search (I have to work for a living). Bless your heart, Dr. Chuck, for taking the time to respond to the calcium post I made. I believe you dropped into the group a month or so ago (quote from that below) and we were subsequently told you didn't have time for the back and forth on this group, but an experienced healer is always welcome here. Are you still in the group, lurking, or did someone send you my post? Just curious. I will admit I am a bit confused by your statement about not doing a PubMed search -- I thought it is necessary and required to keep up with the latest information in your field, no matter what that field is. But I'll address PubMed later, after I get into the google link a bit (since I provided it.) I use google all the time. I know that a lot of commercial companies pay big $$ for top placement when the results of a search are given. I generally skip them. Sorry you focused in on the top couple of results, and didn't take time to quickly skim the ones further down the list, such as: (admittedly not the clinical studies, but I'm going to try to post them later this week) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_28/c3841094_mz019.htm http://www.primeofherlife.com/calcium-good-for-us.htm http://www.coastherbal.com/natural_calm_mag & calcium.htm http://www.betterway2health.com/CALM2.htm They might not list heart disease first in their findings re: excess calcium in the blood, but it is in there. I have gotten much of my information on this subject not from google, but from various CAM practitioners I work with/socialize with here in Miami. This includes allopathic doctors, naturopaths (not licensedin FL, but many become acupuncturists for a license), CHM doctors, chiropractors, etc. There are some that have radio shows wherein they discuss this (and many other health and supplement issues.) One station, that folks can listen to via their comptuers, is WNN: http://www.wnnhealthtalkradio.com/cgi-bin/navobjs?template=templatehome.htm & recno=1 (check the schedule first -- there are many radio shows there) (Right now, they're talking about the Harvard and Johns Hopkins studies on broccoli phytochemicals) I'm such a nerd. When I drive in my car, I don't listen to music, I listen to WNN or WAXY, two local stations that have a lot of CAM practitioners on. snipped the bit where you focused in on the top-paying google placement URLs - and about your patients who took Coral Calcium. When I clicked on the first link,it was about vitamin K and how it can prevent calcification of arteries, so there's a little confusion there. >Calcium balanced with magnesium and vitamin D is necessary this day in time >unless you home garden. There is no way to get enough Calcium from your >diet. I don't want to go into this in detail, I don't care for milk sources >except yogurt and highly reccommend vegtable sources( or sardines). I also >reccommend the inexpensive Cal, Mag, Zinc with Vitamin D you can purchase. Well, since you brought it up, I was hoping you would go into it in detail, since you are the professional in this group. How else can we learn? I believe a diet rich in calcium-rich foods is sufficient, with a tiny bit of calcium supplementation, such as <100 mg found in a multi-vitamin, especially if you are in a risk group, no? I eat greens every day, loads of calcim there. >Recently there has been discussion about restless leg syndrome in this >group. I don't claim to be an expert but I have seen many cases of it. I >work with many women in their late 40's and 50's (my age) and they have the >'change of life challenges' >Not only hot flashes but restless leg problems. The best thing I have found >for the restless leg syndrome is the Cal Mag Zinc with Vit D. I have sold >hundreds of bottle of Quinine capsules, Vit E, some Dr. Schol's supplement >and nothing seemed to work. Most folks take 3 tablets (1800 mg Ca) before >going to bed and an empty stomach. That seems to put an end to it but not >for all folks. There is also something to do with hot flashes and hormonal >dysrhythmia and restless legs. I haven't quite figured it out. So if the >restless legs persist, I will have them take a 350 mg ferrous sulfate tablet >as well (and a good B multiple from Vitamin World). For resistant restless >leg, Vitex seems to help as well. Well, I guess it's time to disagree again. Straight magnesium sulphate or citrate can stop leg cramps and restless leg syndrome, along with some quinine. JMHO. There's a lot of info about dopamine levels and neurologic problems with folks with RLS (most who have RLS also have disturbed sleep patterns, no?) Vitex? See futher down in this post for " baseline " warnings. From Paul Bergner, author of MEDICAL HERBALISM: A Journal for the Clinical Practitioner, and a participant on another herb list I'm on: >Restless leg syndrome is routinely cured by supplementing magnesium. Some >erroneously recommend calcium. Calcium is in general spasmodic to the >muscles, promoting contraction. Magnesium is a " calcium channel blocker " and >antispasmodic. Most of the Western world has magnesium deficiency (at least >80% in the US, and probably 99% of the sick patient walking or being carried >into a clinic) I've repeatedly heard on case intake that patients take >calcium for this and it either doesnt work or it gets worse. Not a surprise, >the cal to mag ration in the body should be about 2:1 for optimal function. >In the US the average is about 7:1. With all the hype about calcium >deficiency (NOT a major cause of osteoporosis BTW which is probably caused >by sednetary lifestyle and too much sugar or its analogues) women in the US >take too much dairy (about 9:1 cal to mag ratio, making things worse, or, >worse, just take calcium supplements. In the average health food store, you >might get a cal mag supplement at a 2:1 ration, but this will be hardly >therapeutic in the individual with a 7:1 imbalance. Better is straight >magnesium 400-800 mg a day of mag citrate. If it causes diarrhea or >cramping, take more frequent lower doses. if one -must- take some calcium, >take half the amount of the magnesium, so maybe 500 mag and 250 calcium. I admire Paul very much. Here is a link to his site: http://medherb.com/ Dr. Chuck again: >Now I'm not touting and saying all you folks should start sniffin' Vitex for >restleg legs. I have seen it work and folks should know about it and >perhaps try it after using the Calcium supplement trial. My Dad taught me >that hucksters (he calls me Huck) have 'something good for moles, sore holes >and elbows.' I don't think Vitex fits here and I don't think folks sharing >about their experience with Vitex are hucksters. I think of hucksters as >those slimy snake oil salesmen (any one remember Hadacol and Hank Williams >Sr?), NOT Butch Owen. To each his own opinion, eh? Well,since you brought up Vitex, an oil I now regard as harmful as Gary Young's Raindrop Therapy, and my basis for that? I'll quote both Barbara Lucks - and you: >Barbara Lucks wrote: >(to Butch Owen, av-at.com) > > I appreciate your follow up on this very important oil. > > If you wish to pass on some information, just let people know that > under the right circumstances, e.o. vitex has proven very effective > at relieving hot flashes. > > The right circumstances involve baseline hormonal assessment and > monitoring through the process by a medically trained practitioner. > If medically trained personnel wish to contact me privately, I am > happy to share the information with them. However, I will not be > able to respond to personal e-mails on the subject. > > There are serious risks if e.o. vitex is used when hormonal levels > do not indicate its use, and when it is used without professional > monitoring. > > Barbara Anya again: how many of the ladies who are rushing to alleviate their hot flashes (or those who are sneaking it on people without their knowledge) have included a baseline hormonal assessment? Practicing medicine without a license, especially when public domain warnings are in place, and you can't plead ignorance if someone is harmed is very, very irresponsible, unethical and dangerous, IMHO. Especially if some of the demonstrated side effect occur, as posted by you a month or so ago: >Documented benefits from the use of essential oil Vitex agnus castus > > a.. Decrease or elimination of hot flashes and night sweats > b.. Improved emotional stability and cognitive ability > c.. Improved vaginal tone and lubrication. More comfortable intercourse. > d.. Moderation of irregular periods and flooding > >Possible side effects from use of Vitex agnus castus > > a.. Headache > b.. Nausea > c.. Rash or sensation of ants crawling on skin > d.. Increased hot flashes or night sweats > e.. Nightmares > f.. Emotional crises, exacerbation of depression, suicidal ideation > g.. Unwanted or unexpected vaginal bleeding > h.. Reduction of the efficacy of birth control pills So if someone has a headache, throws up, gets a rash or 'ants crawling on the skin', and d.-h. (surprise, your're pregant!) who is responsible? FTR, I have had, over the two years or so I've been battling the unprofessional and unethical and dangerous way Vitex is being huckstered on the internet and at conferences, about two dozen ladies contact me via private email about their bad side effects. I had a minor bad side effect when I was in the first trial on Vitex, (two 1-day inconveniences, no biggie), but some have become suicidal, have nightmares, -- started bleeding again after being menopausal for several years-- and they are afraid to come forward. I'll let your imagination figure out why they're afraid to come forward. Several inhaled, several used it diluted on the skin, same bad side effects, BTW. Oy, back to CA, since Dr. Chuck jumped back and forth :-) >There was only one scientifically valid (in my opinion) link from that >search. I saw it as a gimic to get some money to study a new drug to >prevent post MI cardiac arrthymias. Folks that survive heart attacks have a >high rate of succumbing to these. Of course I am sure there is someone out >there with more experience in CaM Kinase and developing a drug to blocks >it's actions in post MI arrythmias. By the way, this has nothing to do with >taking too much calcium !!! In my investigation of those links on the first >page, none seem to demonstrate the point that Calcium supplementation is BAD >FOR YOU as inferred from this post. Oy, such passion with the !!! Dig deeper doc, look at the links I supplied. This back and forth (CA, vitex, CA again) is starting to waste bandwidth, and I blame myself for not having the precise clinical studies to cite. I willl try to get them this week and post them. >I can argue the point on free calcium in the body. I want to see the peer >reviewd research establishing that as fact. Well, it does exist. I have had conversations with local professionals about it (see comment above.) I am hoping you, as a professional can dig deeper, and provide it for us. I don't know where you're located, maybe you don't interact much with others in CAM. snipped stuff about how our bodies use calcium, etc, to save bandwidth, folks can check the OP. >Good topic and I am open to any information sources you may have that I >don't or haven't seem. I love to read and learn. We're here to serve and >learn from each other. Exactly. My bad, my bad for not having the studies available, and for turning to google as a quickie. Hope you can find some chiro portal search engines or literature on the subject. It is just starting to be recognized how excess free calcium can cause many health problems, not just the heart disease I mentioned. HOWEVER, I do have some restless leg abstracts available fromPubMed (Ihad some good calcium/heart disease refs yesterday, but my browser froze, and now PubMed isn't cooperating with my search criteria, so that's why I'm asking you to jump in.) here are some abstracts I have- these are just a few on magnesium go to pub med and put in magnesium and you will find a ton of abstracts to sift through-- Sleep. 1998 Aug 1;21(5):501-5. Magnesium therapy for periodic leg movements-related insomnia and restless legs syndrome: an open pilot study. Hornyak M, Voderholzer U, Hohagen F, Berger M, Riemann D. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany. Periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS), with or without symptoms of a restless legs syndrome (RLS), may cause sleep disturbances. The pharmacologic treatments of choice are dopaminergic drugs. Their use, however, may be limited due to tolerance development or rebound phenomena. Anecdotal observations have shown that oral magnesium therapy may ameliorate symptoms in patients with moderate RLS. We report on an open clinical and polysomnographic study in 10 patients (mean age 57 +/- 9 years; 6 men, 4 women) suffering from insomnia related to PLMS (n = 4) or mild-to-moderate RLS (n = 6). Magnesium was administered orally at a dose of 12.4 mmol in the evening over a period of 4-6 weeks. Following magnesium treatment, PLMS associated with arousals (PLMS-A) decreased significantly (17 +/- 7 vs 7 +/- 7 events per hour of total sleep time, p < 0.05). PLMS without arousal were also moderately reduced (PLMS per hour of total sleep time 33 +/- 16 vs 21 +/- 23, p = 0.07). Sleep efficiency improved from 75 +/- 12% to 85 +/- 8% (p < 0.01). In the group of patients estimating their sleep and/or symptoms of RLS as improved after therapy (n = 7), the effects of magnesium on PLMS and PLMS-A were even more pronounced. Our study indicates that magnesium treatment may be a useful alternative therapy in patients with mild or moderate RLS-or PLMS-related insomnia. Further investigations regarding the role of magnesium in the pathophysiology of RLS and placebo-controlled studies need to be performed. ---------- ---- Rom J Neurol Psychiatry. 1993 Jan-Mar;31(1):55-61. Clinical, EEG, electromyographic and polysomnographic studies in restless legs syndrome caused by magnesium deficiency. Popoviciu L, Asgian B, Delast-Popoviciu D, Alexandrescu A, Petrutiu S, Bagathal I. Academy of Medical Sciences, Department of Neurology, Tirgu-Mures, Romania. The present paper reports biochemical and neurophysiological investigations in ten cases with restless leg syndrome. Other neuropsychiatric affections and factors which could generate the symptomatology of restless legs syndrome were not included. The EEG recordings demonstrated evident reticular neuronal hypersynchrony generated by hyperpnoea (sinusoidal slow waves). The classical EEG investigations pointed out neuromuscular hyperexcitability, but some modifications of the functional parameters of the neuromuscular excitability and conductibility (signs of neuropathy) were also noticed. In all the cases, continuous 8-hour polysomnographic recordings and monitorization on infrared TV screen were performed. Investigations reported: important disorders of sleep organization, agitated sleep with frequent periods of nocturnal awakenings, increase of the durations and percentages of light slow-wave sleep (LSWS) and rapid and frequent changes of various stages of LSWS, a decrease of duration and percentage of DSWS, a decrease of duration and percentage of REM sleep (as in other parasomnias caused by magnesium deficiency) and nocturnal EEG anomalies (long discharges of sinusoidal slow waves, of sharp waves and of sharp slow waves appearing in the LSWS stages with the disappearance in the REM sleep). ---------- --- Med Sci Monit. 2002 May;8(5):CR326-30. Randomised, cross-over, placebo controlled trial of magnesium citrate in the treatment of chronic persistent leg cramps. Roffe C, Sills S, Crome P, Jones P. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK. christine.roffe BACKGROUND: Nocturnal leg cramps are common and distressing. The only treatment of proven effectiveness is quinine, but this has a number of side effects. Magnesium salts have been shown to reduce leg cramp distress in pregnancy. This study tests whether magnesium citrate is effective in the treatment of leg cramps in non-pregnant individuals by conducting in a randomised, double-blind, cross-over placebo-controlled trial. MATERIAL/METHODS: Volunteers suffering regular leg cramps were recruited. Magnesium citrate equivalent to 300 mg magnesium and matching placebo were given for 6 weeks each. The number of cramps recorded in the cramp diary during the final 4 weeks of magnesium and placebo treatment, severity and duration of cramps and the participants' subjective assessment of effectiveness were analysed. RESULTS: In subjects who started with placebo (n=29) the median (95% CI) number of cramps was 9 (6-17) on placebo and 5 (4-8) on magnesium. For the group starting with magnesium (n=17) the median no of cramps was 9 (5-13) on magnesium and 8 (4-14) on placebo. There was no significant carry-over effect (p=0.88), but a highly significant period effect (p=0.008). There was a trend towards less cramps on magnesium (p=0.07). There was no difference in cramp severity and duration between the groups. Significantly more subjects thought that the treatment had helped after magnesium than after placebo 36 (78%) and 25 (54%) respectively, (p=0.03). Diarrhoea was recorded as a side effect of magnesium. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that magnesium may be effective in treatment of nocturnal leg cramps. Further evaluation is recommended. Stroke. 2003 Dec 4 [Epub ahead of print]. Low Serum Magnesium Predicts Neurological Events in Patients With Advanced Atherosclerosis. Amighi J, Sabeti S, Schlager O, Mlekusch W, Exner M, Lalouschek W, Ahmadi R, Minar E, Schillinger M. Departments of Angiology, Laboratory Medicine, and Clinical Neurology, Vienna General Hospital, Medical School, Vienna, Austria. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Magnesium (Mg) deficiency is thought to be a risk factor for cerebrovascular atherosclerosis and complications. We investigated the prognostic impact of Mg serum levels with respect to the occurrence of neurological events in patients with advanced atherosclerosis. METHODS: We prospectively studied 323 patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication (197 men; median age, 68 years). Serum Mg was determined, and patients were followed for a median of 20 months (interquartile range, 12 to 25 months) for the occurrence of neurological events, defined as ischemic stroke and/or carotid revascularization (carotid endarterectomy or carotid stenting). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis was applied to assess the association of serum Mg (in tertiles) and neurological events. RESULTS: Neurological events occurred in 35 patients (11%) (15 patients with stroke, 13 with carotid revascularization, and 7 with stroke and subsequent revascularization). Compared with patients in the highest tertile of Mg serum levels (>0.84 mmol/L), patients with Mg serum values <0.76 mmol/L (lowest tertile) exhibited a 3.29-fold increased adjusted risk (95% CI, 1.34 to 7.90; P=0.009) for neurological events, but patients with Mg serum values of 0.76 mmol/L to 0.84 mmol/L (middle tertile) had no increased risk (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.35 to 3.33; P=0.88). Mg serum levels were not associated with all-cause mortality (P=0.87) or coronary events (P=0.67) during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Low Mg serum levels indicate an increased risk for neurological events in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease, favoring Mg substitution therapy in those patients with advanced atherosclerosis. ----------- (I also have citations on folic acid deficiency causing RLS, but this post is a huge puppy at this point, so I'll end it here :-) http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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