Common neurologic complications of hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia
What are the most common neurologic complications of hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia?
Because, like potassium, magnesium is an intracellular ion whose intracellular concentrations are tightly controlled, the presence of neurologic complications may not directly correlate with extracellular magnesium concentrations.
Hypomagnesemia, however, appears to present in patients with essentially the same findings as hypocalcemia.
Because serum-ionized calcium concentrations are reduced in the presence of hypomagnesemia, some of these symptoms may, in fact, be the functional result of hypocalcemia.
Hypermagnesemia results in CNS depression and muscle paralysis.
The first sign of hypermagnesemia is often a loss of deep tendon reflexes.
The mechanism of CNS depression is not well understood; muscle paralysis occurs as a result of direct neuromuscular blockade.