Tag: asthma

Magnesium benefits asthmatics

Niels Hertz

January 8, 2007

Almost everyone gets far less magnesium in their diet than people got in the past. It seems that this greatly worsens life for asthmatics. But the problem has hardly been investigated.

One has to take magnesium seriously. It is a vital mineral, but many people get far less than the 3-400 milligrams a day that are considered adequate. Before the industrialization, we got an average of approx. 500 mg a day (some have said 1,000). Today, many get less than 250.

Several reports in recent years have linked magnesium deficiency to asthma and allergies. In 1994, for example, an English study showed that the more magnesium asthmatics got, the better their lung function. Those who received 500 mg a day had 25% better lung function than those who received 400 – judged by the amount of air you can exhale in one second.

Asthma was not very common in the past. Today, it is a fearsome widespread disease. Approx. every tenth Danish school child has asthma. In Aberdeen and Philadelphia, every fourth child at the age of eight has it. The frequency in Denmark has more than tripled since the 1970s, and no one has any reasonable explanation. What if magnesium deficiency is part of the cause?

During an asthma attack, the bronchi contract so that the air can neither get out nor in – especially not out. But as early as 1912, the famous physician Trendelenburg – it was he who suggested that you should have your legs up in the air if the blood pressure drops – showed that magnesium has the opposite effect. It dilates the bronchi. It was on cows, but in 1936 it was also detected on humans.

Still, only two randomized studies have actually been made to investigate the effect on asthma. One (from 1997) showed that magnesium reduces symptoms. The second (from 2003) showed nothing, which was probably due to the patients receiving so much medication that there was nothing to improve.

Less allergy
Now a team of Brazilian doctors has made a third attempt. They studied 37 children and adolescents (7-19 years) with persistent moderate asthma and allergies. All received medical treatment in the form of an asthma spray with a bronchodilator in addition to adrenal cortex hormone. In addition, they had an acute-acting spray for use in aggravation.

In 18 of the children, this treatment was supplemented with 300 mg of magnesium daily for two months. The rest received placebo (“calcium pills”). Who got what, was decided by secret drawing of lots.

Magnesium helped. Those who received magnesium had significantly fewer days of asthma exacerbation during the two months (12 and 17, respectively). Despite this, they also had significantly fewer days in which to resort to the acute-acting spray (7 and 12, respectively). Although the experiment was small, the differences were statistically extremely reliable. In addition, those who were treated responded far less to the traditional skin prick tests used to examine for allergies. They actually became less allergic! Finally, one could directly measure that their bronchial mucosa was far less irritable.

The conclusion is obvious: Trendelenburg’s old discovery holds water with great certainty. But magnesium is a very cheap mineral (a prolonged-release tablet with 360 mg costs a little over a penny), which no one can patent. Who will pay for further research?

Niels Hertz, MD


Referencer:
1. Gontijo-Amaral C et al. Oral magnesium supplementation in asthmatic children: A double-blind placebo controlled trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007: 61:54-60.
2. Britton J et al. Dietary magnesium, lung function, wheezing, and airway hyperreactivity in a random adult population. Lancet 1994;344:357-62

www.nature.com/ejcn/index.html
www.thelancet.com

Vitamin C Prevents Hard Mucus and Dry Mucus Membranes

Claus Hancke

August 24, 2004

American science points towards Vitamin C being beneficial for those suffering from heavy mucus in the respiratory tract, e.g. asthmatics and others suffering from chronic sinusitis and/or chronic bronchitis.

The doctors from the Research Department at the Childrens Hospital in Oakland have shown that vitamin C is necessary for the formation of the liquid layer on the surface of the mucous membranes necessary for the functioning of the membranes. However, the optimal concentrations of vitamin C are so high that they may only be reached by local treatment of the mucous membranes with vitamin C in a spray form.

The American studies are extremely sophisticated basic research. They concern the so-called CFTR molecule, which is defective in the congenital disease cystic fibrosis, also known as tough mucus disease. CFTR is a molecule that is formed centrally in the cells, but migrates to the surface, where it functions as a transporter of chloride ions, which secondarily draw fluid with it. When the molecule is damaged, the cell surface lacks its fluid layer, and mucus is formed instead.

Studies have shown that vitamin C is necessary for the function of the CFTR molecule on the cell surface. If the mucosa becomes deficient in vitamin C because it is depleted by free oxygen radicals due to smoking or inflammation, the molecule is damaged. As a result, the surface of the cells dries out, and in the airways, thick mucus will form. However, direct surface treatment of the mucous membranes with vitamin C significantly improved the function of the molecule in volunteers.

Based on the studies, it is therefore predicted that local treatment with vitamin C will be able to loosen the tough secretions in the diseases mentioned and thus prevent infections. The researchers also believe that vitamin C should be investigated in the so-called Sjögren’s syndrome, a widespread disease that manifests itself in dry mucous membranes.

The studies provide, for the first time, an explanation for why high doses of vitamin C cause loose stools. The explanation is that the vitamin affects the intestinal mucosa in the same way as other mucous membranes, thus promoting the formation of a liquid layer on the surface.

However, the results cannot be immediately applied to cystic fibrosis. Here, the CFTR molecule is defective in such a way that it does not reach the cell surface at all, where it would otherwise be activated by vitamin C.

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
Fischer H et al.: Vitamin C controls the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel. Journal of the National Academy of Sciences 2004;101: 3691–3696.

www.jstor.org/journals/nas.html
www.iom.dk

Children with Asthma are Helped by Antioxidants

Per LarsenLeave a Comment on Children with Asthma are Helped by Antioxidants

May 30, 2002

A new study presented in the scientific magazine of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows that antioxidants like Vitamin C and E may protect the lungs of asthmatic children so that they are not harmed by ozone air pollution in the big cities.

158 asthmatic children from the very polluted Mexico City either got a supplement of antioxidants or a control supplement without active substances.

Nobody knew who got what before the code was broken at the end of the study one and a half year later.

The daily supplement given to the children was 50mg Vitamin E and 250mg Vitamin C. In the antioxidant group the children’s lung function was not reduced in those periods of time, where the city was heavily ozone polluted. On the contrary, the lung function of the children who got control tablets was worsened.

The scientists said, that the antioxidants especially seemed to help children with moderate or severe asthma. This points towards that children with advanced asthma are especially vulnerable to ozone, because thay have a weak antioxidant defence i their lungs.

Some asthmatics get severe symptoms, when they breathe in the air borne irritants like ozone found in big cities, coming from cars, power plants and industries.

Also studies made with healthy bikers have shown that antioxidants may reduce the harmfull effects of ozone pollution on lung function.

The scientists behind this study conclude, that asthmatic children in areas with air pollution should have more Vitamin C and E to protect their lungs.

The Vitality Council agrees with this conclusion.
Per Tork Larsen, DSOM


Reference:
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2002;166: 703-70

ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/166/5/703
www.iom.dk