The complex relationship between magnesium and serum parathyroid hormone: a study in patients with chronic intestinal failure

摘要

In this study we compared the content of muscle free [Mg~(2+)] assessed by ~31P MRS to that of serum total Mg assessed by routine colorimetric assays in 15 patients affected by Chronic Intestinal Failure (CIF) on long-term Home Paren-teral Nutrition (HPN) or who had undergone isolated intestinal transplantation. We also investigated in the same cohort of patients the relationship of muscle free [Mg~(2+)] and serum total Mg with parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum content. All patients showed a normal cytosolic free [Mg~(2+)] in the calf muscle despite about half of them having a content of total serum [Mg] below or at the lower edge of the boundary limits. Muscle free Mg~(2+) and serum total Mg displayed an opposite correlation versus serum PTH, showing that the intracellular free form possesses a different functional metabolic meaning in the regulation of PTH secretion.