Definition

A magnesium salt of sulfuric acid, that can be used to normalize magnesium levels in the body, and to prevent seizures in eclampsia and preeclampsia. Magnesium is a divalent cation essential for a number of biochemical processes involved in nerve signaling, bone mineralization and muscle contractions. About 350 enzymes involved in glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, formation of cyclic-AMP and ATP, cellular signal transduction and protein and nucleic acid synthesis are dependent on magnesium. Magnesium blocks neuromuscular transmission and decreases the amount of acetylcholine liberated at the end plate by the motor nerve impulse, thereby preventing convulsions and seizures.