Magnesium concentration in brains from multiple sclerosis patients

Calcium (Ca) concentrations were studied in the central nervous system (CNS) of four patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS, average age 49 yr) and five controls (average age 68 yr). The Ca concentration was determined by neutron activation analysis in autopsy samples taken from the 26 subanatomical regions of CNS tissues. Although the mean Ca concentration in the 26 CNS regions combined was higher in the four MS patients than in the controls, the content of white matter was lower. Whether or not this significantly lower Ca concentration found in the white matter of MS patients plays an important role in the demyelinating process remains unclear, although that lower concentration seems not be age dependent, but MS specific.