Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the effect of oral consumption of magnesium on the memory and pain sensation of diabetic rats.Methods: A total of 48 rats were divided into four groups - untreated control, untreated diabetic, magnesium-treated control and magnesium-treated diabetic. Plasma magnesium and glucose concentrations were measured after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg). Four weeks after the administration of oral magnesium (10 g/L, MgSO4), the animals were subjected to passive avoidance test whereby latency time (LT) was assessed. This was followed by formalin test which entailed the determination of licking and flinching scoresResults: Increased level of glucose and decreased concentration of magnesium in untreated diabetic group compared to untreated control group (p < 0.001) were observed. There was also a significant reduction in mean LT of untreated diabetic group (p < 0.001) as indicated by the increased number of animals that entered the dark compartment. Plasma glucose and magnesium levels in magnesium treated diabetic rats returned to normal 4 weeks after oral magnesium consumption. There was no significant change in mean total pain score despite elevated licking in diabetic animals after oral magnesium consumption. Significant elevation of flinching scores of untreated diabetic rats was observed in the last 20 min of the 2nd chronic phase, compared with the untreated control group.Conclusion: It seems that magnesium treatment either restores rat memory performance that is impaired by diabetes or that it affects the aversive responses evoked by electrical shock.Keywords: Diabetes, Magnesium, Glucose, Passive avoidance memory, Formalin test.
Highlights
There are several theories regarding the pathology and cognitive impairment in individuals with diabetes [1,2]
The results of a recent study have shown that high blood sugar is main causes of painful neuropathy caused by induced toxicity in peripheral nervous system [9].It seems that magnesium is a factor in the pathogenesis of diabetes as magnesium deficiency has been observed among 25 – 38 % of diabetic patients, in particular among those without an appropriate metabolic control [7]
There was no significant difference between the magnesium-treated diabetic and untreated control groups
Summary
There are several theories regarding the pathology and cognitive impairment in individuals with diabetes [1,2]. The results of a recent study have shown that high blood sugar is main causes of painful neuropathy caused by induced toxicity in peripheral nervous system [9].It seems that magnesium is a factor in the pathogenesis of diabetes as magnesium deficiency has been observed among 25 – 38 % of diabetic patients, in particular among those without an appropriate metabolic control [7]. This element modulates glucose transport across the membranes and is considered an important co-factor in enzymatic systems such as glucose oxidation [10]. There is an inverse correlation between the magnesium absorption and diabetes and the diabetic patients are recommended to consume foods rich in magnesium such as cereals and green vegetables [15]
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