Effect of magnesium on somatosensory evoked potential in patients with cerebral infarction

doi:10.3321/j.issn:1673-8225.2004.10.015

Abstract：BACKGROUND: With the advance of studies on the therapeutic effect of magnesium ion on ischemic brain trauma, more attention has been paid to its neuroprotective role. Although quite a few reports on the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases with magnesium have been published, few literature on the influence of magnesium on somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) in patients with cerebral infarction can be found both at home and abroad.OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the cerebroprotective role of magnesium by investigating its influence on SEP in patients with cerebral infarction.DESIGN: A case-control study base on clinical diagnosis.SETTING and SUBJECTS: Between January 2000 and December 2001,sixty patients with confirmed cerebral infarction in the Neurophysiological Department of the Third People' s Hospital in Liaocheng City, Liaoning Province, were included in this trial and randomly divided into two groups.In the treating group( n = 30), there were 16 males and 14 females, aged from 36 to 72 years old with the mean age of(62 ±4); lesions were found in basal gonglions of 18 cases, radiation coronal of 8 cases and hemisphere of 4 cases. The control group consisted of 15 males and 15 females, aged from 37 to 75 years old with the mean age of(63 ±5) years old; infarctions were found in basal gonglions of 16 cases, radiation coronal of 9 cases and hemisphere of 5 cases.METHODS: Patients in treatment group received intravenous injection of 20 mL magnesium sulfate of 250 g/L in 12 hours, once per day for consecutive 7 days. SEPs were compared before and after treatment with those of control group, in which the patients received the similar treatment but without magnesium sulfate.MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: SEP response property and nerve functional impairment scores ( NFIS).RESULTS: SEP was obviously improved after magnesium administration in treatment group. Pretreatment NFIS was 12.60 ±5.31 and pest-treatment NFIS was 7.41 ±4. 35( t =4. 141, P ＜ 0. 01) . NFIS in control group was 12.80 ±7.01 and 12. 80 ±5.37 before and after treatment, respectively ( t = 2.99, P ＜ 0.05 ) . NFISs in both groups significantly decreased after treatment, and decrease of NFIS in the treatment group was more significant than that in the control group.CONCLUSION: Magnesium was beneficial for the significant improvement of SEP in patients with cerebral infarction, indicating apparent neuroprotective role.