Assessment of Serum Magnesium Level with Diabetic Foot Ulceration in Type II Diabetes Associated with Diabetic Nephropathy Patients

Magnesium (Mg), is the fourth most common cation in the body, with an essential role in fundamental biological reactions, whose deficiency provokes biochemical and symptomatic alterations in the human organism. This ion is now established as a central electrolyte in a large number of cellular metabolic reactions, including DNA and protein synthesis, neurotransmission, and hormone receptor binding. It is a component of GTPase and a cofactor for Na+/ K +-ATPase, adenylate cyclase, and phosphofructokinase. Magnesium is a cofactor in more than 300 cellular enzymatic systems and has a key role in cellular metabolism; the recognition that Mg deficiency or excess may be associated with significant clinical consequences has resulted in an increased interest in the utility of serum Mg measurement.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), characterized by metabolic disorders related to high levels of serum glucose, is probably the most associated disease to Mg depletion in intra and extra cellular compartments. In several studies reduced magnesium concentrations have been observed in diabetic adults. Hypomagnesemia has been related as a cause of insulin resistance, also being a consequence of hyperglycemia, and when it is chronic leads to the installation of macro and microvascular complications of diabetes, worsening the deficiency of Mg. The association between diabetes mellitus and hypomagnesaemia is compelling for its wide ranging impact on diabetic control and complications. Hypomagnesaemia has been linked to poor glycemic control, coronary artery diseases, hypertension, foot ulceration and diabetic neuropathy . Nerve Conduction Test (NCS)is the gold standard test that should be performed to confirm the presence of neuropathy to determine it's severity and to differentiate other causes of neuropathy from diabetic neuropathy.