Magnesium-Containing Medicines: from Clinical Pharmacology to Pharmaceutical Assistance (Part 1)
Magnesium is an irreplaceable cation of the human body and it is found mainly in bones, muscles and soft tissues. Magnesium-containing medicines are prescribed on the base of clinical and laboratory diagnostic parameters. The article is focused on the biological role of magnesium and the associated pharmacodynamic effects of medicines. Actual and systematic information about medical use and contraindications, adverse reactions and drug interactions was systematized according to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of magnesium compounds and cause- effect relationships. It is discovered that magnesium salts have low bioavailability (and depend on the type of salt); they are absorbed in the small intestine by two transport pathways (paracellular and transcellular), and kidneys play an important role in maintaining the magnesium homeostasis.