Serum Magnesium Levels in Chronic Alcoholics

The　serum magnesium levels were determined in a series of 33 patients with choronic alcoholism institutionalized at the mental hosptal. When compared between a group of 14 patients having morbid experiences such as delirium tremens and hallucinations and another group of 19 patients with no such psychotic symptoms, the serum level of magnesium was found to be significantly lower in the former group (P<0.05). It is a fact of profound interest that in patients who had there were significantly low magnesium concentrations in the serum. Further elucidation of the mechanisms of actions of magnesium and tranksketolase which take part in thiamine metabolism may provide a clue to the study of chronic alcoholsm, especially Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy.