Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29882776›Full record

ReviewNutrients2018

The Role of Magnesium in Neurological Disorders.

Anna E Kirkland, Gabrielle L Sarlo, Kathleen F Holton

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nutrients, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 164 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
164citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
14.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

164 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 343 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Effects of selected dietary supplements on migraine prophylaxis: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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  6. Prehospital neuroprotectant in combination with post-arrival thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke. Secondary analysis of the FAST-MAG prehospital trial.Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association · 2026
    Trial
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  8. Magnesium citrate monotherapy improves restless legs syndrome symptoms and multiple suggested immobilization test scores in an open-label pilot study.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2024
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104 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Anna E KirklandDepartment of Psychology, Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience Program, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. ak0698a@american.edu.
Gabrielle L SarloDepartment of Psychology, Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience Program, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. gs0703a@american.edu.
Kathleen F HoltonDepartment of Health Studies, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. holton@american.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-2619-7983
American University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Magnesium is well known for its diverse actions within the human body. From a neurological standpoint, magnesium plays an essential role in nerve transmission and neuromuscular conduction. It also functions in a protective role against excessive excitation that can lead to neuronal cell death (excitotoxicity), and has been implicated in multiple neurological disorders. Due to these important functions within the nervous system, magnesium is a mineral of intense interest for the potential prevention and treatment of neurological disorders. Current literature is reviewed for migraine, chronic pain, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke, as well as the commonly comorbid conditions of anxiety and depression. Previous reviews and meta-analyses are used to set the scene for magnesium research across neurological conditions, while current research is reviewed in greater detail to update the literature and demonstrate the progress (or lack thereof) in the field. There is strong data to suggest a role for magnesium in migraine and depression, and emerging data to suggest a protective effect of magnesium for chronic pain, anxiety, and stroke. More research is needed on magnesium as an adjunct treatment in epilepsy, and to further clarify its role in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Overall, the mechanistic attributes of magnesium in neurological diseases connote the macromineral as a potential target for neurological disease prevention and treatment.

Indexed as

BrainCentral Nervous System AgentsCentral Nervous System DiseasesHumansMagnesiumPrognosisSpinal CordCentral Nervous System AgentsMagnesiumAlzheimer’schronic painepilepsyexcitotoxicityglutamatemagnesiummigraineParkinson’sstroke

Identifiers

PMID29882776
PMCPMC6024559
OpenAlexW2805135260

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.