Naslov
The level of ionic and total magnesium in serum and lymphocytes in alcohol addicts

Autori
Vidrih, Branka ; Karlović, Dalibor ; Matošić, Ana ; vrkić, Nada

Izvornik
Alcoholism (0002-502X) 47 (2011), 2; 99-110

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
ionic magnesium ; total magnesiun ; alcohol addiction

Sažetak
By measuring the concentration of total magnesium in serum one cannot make a difference between the biologically active, ionic magnesium and the one bound to proteins. Despite the normal value of concentration of ionic magnesium in serum, very often a deficiency of ionic magnesium is present in cells. This is why the determination of the concentration of ionic magnesium in cells is more important than obtaining an accurate insight about the entire magnesium status in the organism. Two most important functions of magnesium are the activation of enzymes and regulation of the membrane electrolyte transport. In alcohol addicts there is almost always a magnesium deficiency which is manifested as hypomagnesemia and cellular magnesium deficiency. Therefore, we decided to study a group of alcohol addicts and the relationship between magnesium concentration in serum and lymphocytes. The objectives of this paper were to determine the concentrations of ionic and total magnesium in serum and lymphocytes in alcohol addicts and to compare the values obtained in alcohol addicts with those of the healthy control group. We hypothesized that in alcohol addicts there is hypomagnesemia which is expressed more significantly in the sample of lymphocytes than in serum, and that the level of magnesium concentration returns to reference values after the establishment of abstinence. The study included subjects treated for alcohol addiction as inpatients, while the control group consisted of healthy volunteers. The results we obtained suggest that the concentration of total and ionic magnesium in alcohol addicts, both in serum and lymphocytes, reduced significantly compared to the control group. The changes in the concentration of ionic and total magnesium were more significant in the sample of lymphocytes. The concentration values of total and ionic magnesium in serum and lymphocytes depend on the duration of abstinence. After an initial decrease, the concentrations of total and ionic magnesium in serum and the concentrations of ion magnesium in lymphocytes slowly come close to the values of the control group. The most expressed decrease of values compared to the control group was determined in the concentration of total magnesium in lymphocytes. The normalization of concentration values in total and ionic magnesium occurs in serum more quickly than in lymphocytes, so a therapy longer than 21 days is necessary.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti, Farmacija

POVEZANOST RADA