Emerging Clinical Significance of Magnesium in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Hypomagnesemia has been reported to occur at an increased frequency among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Magnesium, the second most common intracellular cation plays a fund amental role as a cofactor in various enzymatic reactions involving energy metabolism. It is involved at multiple levels in insulin secretion, binding and activity. Magnesium deficiency is common in diabete mellitus and its late complications. Despite numerous reports linking hypomagnesemia to chronic diabetic complications, attention to this issue is poor among clinicians. The present review discusses the functional role of magnesium in diabetes mellitus and introduces a relatively new concept of magnesium deficiency in diabetic complications.