Abstract 
         
         Although thiazolidinediones and magnesium supplementation improves insulin action
            and increases HDL-cholesterol, the potential link between serum magnesium and thiazolidinediones
            has received little attention. Focusing on the increase of serum magnesium, 63 eligible
            subjects were enrolled and randomly allocated to receive either 30 mg Pioglitazone
            once daily (Group A) or lifestyle intervention (Group B) during 12 weeks. Subjects
            were eligible if they were glucose-intolerant, and excluded if they had high blood
            pressure, diabetes or abnormal liver function tests. The personnel assessing outcomes
            were blinded to group assignment. Of the 63 eligible subjects, 3 dropped out (one
            in group A, and two in Group B) because they moved out of the city. So, 30 subjects
            in each group, who satisfactorily completed the follow-up, were included in the analysis
            of data. There were no serious adverse events or side effects due to Pioglitazone
            or lifestyle intervention. At baseline, the groups did not differ significantly in
            serum magnesium levels 1.73 ± 0.17 versus 1.72 ± 0.14 mg/dl, p = 0.80. Subjects who
            received Pioglitazone significantly increased their serum magnesium to 1.93 ± 0.16
            mg/dl whereas in the lifestyle intervention group the increase was 1.74 ± 0.25 mg/dl,
            p < 0.0001. What this study showed was a significant increase in the serum magnesium
            levels of glucose-intolerant subjects who received 30 mg Pioglitazone once daily.
         
         
         
            
Key words 
         
         
            Pioglitazone - Magnesium - Thiazolidinediones - Impaired glucose tolerance
          
       
    
   
      
         References 
         
         
             1 
               Belcher G, Matthews D R. 
               Safety and tolerability of Pioglitazone. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               S267-S273 
                
             2 
               Buse J B. 
               Pioglitazone in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: U.  S. clinical experience. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               S250-S255 
                
             3 
               Corica F, Allegra A, Di Benedetto A, Giacobbe M S, Romano G, Cucinotta D, Buemi M,
               Ceruso D. 
               Effects of oral magnesium supplementation on plasma lipid concentrations in patients
               with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. 
               Magnes Res. 
               1994; 
               7 
               43-47 
                
             4 
               Eckland D A, Danhof M. 
               Clinical pharmacokinetics of Pioglitazone. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               S234-S242 
                
             5 
               Eibl N L, Kopp H P, Nowak H R, Schnack C J, Hopmeier P G, Schernthaner G. 
               Hypomagnesemia in type II diabetes: effect of a 3-month replacement therapy. 
               Diabetes Care. 
               1995; 
               18 
               188-192 
                
             6 
               Ellenberg S, Temple R. 
               Placebo-controlled trials and active-control trials in the evaluation of new treatments.
               Part 2. Practical issues and specific cases. 
               Ann Intern Med. 
               2000; 
               133 
               464-470 
                
             7 
               Eriksson J, Lindström J, Valle T, Aunola S, Hämaäläinen H, Ilanne-Parikka P, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S,
               Laakso M, Lauhkonen M, Lehto P, Lehtonen A, Louheranta A, Mannelin M, Martikkala V,
               Rastas M, Sundvall J, Turpeinen A, Viljnanen T, Uusitupa M, Tuomilehto J. 
               Finnish Diabetes Prevention Group: Prevention of type II diabetes in subjects with
               impaired glucose tolerance: The diabetes prevention study (DPS) in Finland. 
               Diabetologia. 
               1999; 
               42 
               793-801 
                
             8 
               Eriksson K F, Lindgärde F. 
               No excess 12-year mortality in men with impaired glucose tolerance who participated
               in the Malmö preventive trial with diet and exercise. 
               Diabetologia. 
               1998; 
               41 
               1010-1016 
                
             9 
               Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus .
               Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. 
               Diabetes Care. 
               1999; 
               22 (Suppl. 1) 
               S5-S19 
                
             10 
               Fonseca V A, Rosenstock J, Patwardhan R, Salzman A. 
               Effect of metformin and rosiglitazone combination therapy in patients with type 2
               diabetes mellitus: a randomized, controlled trial. 
               JAMA. 
               2000; 
               283 
               1695-1702 
                
             11 
               Fürchtenbush M, Standl E, Schatz H. 
               Clinical efficacy of new thiazolidinediones, and glinides in the treatment of type
               2 diabetes mellitus. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 
               160-163 
                
             12 
               Guerrero-Romero F, Rodriguez-Moran M. 
               Hypomagnesemia is linked to low serum HDL-cholesterol irrespective of serum glucose
               levels. 
               J Diabetes Complications. 
               2000; 
               14 
               272-276 
                
             13 
               Hanefeld M, Göke B. 
               Combining Pioglitazone with a sulphonylurea or metformin in the management of type
               2 diabetes. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               256-266 
                
             14 
               Hu F B, Manson JoAnn E, Stamfer M J, Colditz G, Liu S, Solomon C G, Willet W. 
               Diet, lifestyle, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. 
               N Engl J Med. 
               2001; 
               345 
               790-797 
                
             15 
               Humphries S, Kushner H, Falkner B. 
               Low dietary magnesium is associated with insulin resistance in a sample of young,
               nondiabetic black Americans. 
               Am J Hypertens. 
               1999; 
               12 
               747-756 
                
             16 
               Itoh K, Kawasaka T, Nakamura M. 
               The effects of high oral magnesium supplementation on blood pressure, serum lipids
               and related variables in apparently healthy Japanese subjects. 
               Br J Nutr. 
               1997; 
               78 
               737-750 
                
             17 
               Jones B, Jarvis P, Lewis J A, Ebbut A F. 
               Trials to assess equivalence: the importance of rigorous methods. 
               BMJ. 
               1996; 
               313 
               36-39 
                
             18 
               Kao W HL, Folsom A R, Nieto J F, Mo J-P, Watson R L, Brancati F L. 
               Serum and dietary magnesium and the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. 
               Arch Intern Med. 
               1999; 
               159 
               2151-2159 
                
             19 
               Kemnitz J W, Elson D F, Roecker E B, Baum S T, Bergman R N, Meglasson M D. 
               Pioglitazone increases insulin sensitivity, reduces blood glucose, insulin, and lipid
               levels, and lowers blood pressure, in obese, insulin resistant rhesus monkeys. 
               Diabetes. 
               1994; 
               43 
               204-211 
                
             20 
               King H, Aubert R E, Herman W H. 
               Global burden of diabetes, 1995 - 2025: Prevalence, numerical estimates, and projections. 
               Diabetes Care. 
               1998; 
               21 
               1414-1431 
                
             21 
               Komers R, Vrána A. 
               Thiazolidinediones - tools for the research of metabolic syndrome X. 
               Physiol Res. 
               1998; 
               47 
               212-225 
                
             22 
               Lefèbvre P J, Scheen A J. 
               Improving the action of insulin. 
               Clin Invest Med. 
               1995; 
               18 
               340-347 
                
             23 
               Makuch R, Johnson M. 
               Issues in planning and interpreting active control equivalences studies. 
               J Clin Epidemiol. 
               1989; 
               42 
               503-511 
                
             24 
               Malpuech-Brugère C, Nowacki W, Rock E, Gueux E, Mazur A, Rayssiguier Y. 
               Enhanced tumor necrosis factor-alpha production following endotoxin challenge in rats:
               an early event during magnesium deficiency. 
               Biochem Biophys Acta. 
               1999; 
               1453 
               35-40 
                
             25 
               Matthews D, Hosker J, Rudenski A, Naylor B, Treacher D, Turner R. 
               Homeostasis model assessment: Insulin resistance and B-cell function from fasting
               plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man. 
               Diabetologia. 
               1985; 
               28 
               412-419 
                
             26 
               Mejía-Aranguré J M, Fajardo-Gutierrez A, Gómez-delgado A, Cuevas-Uriostegui M L, Hernández
               Hernández D M, Garduño-Espinoza J, Navarrete-Navarro S, Veláquez-Pérez L, Martínez-García M C.
               
               El tamaño de la muestra. Un enfoque práctico en la investigación clínica pediátrica. 
               Bol Med Hosp Infant Mex. 
               1995; 
               52 
               381-391 
                
             27 
               Nadler J, Scott S. 
               Evidence that Pioglitazone increases intracellular free magnesium concentration in
               freshly isolated rat adypocites. 
               Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 
               1994; 
               202 
               416-421 
                
             28 
               Nadler J L, Buchanan T, Natarajan R, Antonipillai I, Bergman R, Rude R. 
               Magnesium deficiency produces insulin resistance and increased thromboxane synthesis. 
               Hypertension. 
               1993; 
               21 
               1024-1029 
                
             29 
               Paolisso G, Barbagallo M. 
               Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and insulin resistance: the role of intracellular
               magnesium. 
               Am J Hypertens. 
               1997; 
               10 
               346-355 
                
             30 
               Paolisso G, Scheen A, D'Onofrio F, Lefèbvre P. 
               Magnesium and glucose homeostasis. 
               Diabetologia. 
               1990; 
               33 
               511-514 
                
             31 
               Pfohl M, Schatz H. 
               Strategies for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2001; 
               109 (Suppl 2) 
               S240-S249 
                
             32 
               Reaven G M. 
               Insulin resistance, how important is it to treat?. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               S271-S280 
                
             33 
               Reaven G M. 
               Pathophysiology of insulin resistance in human disease. 
               Physiol Rev. 
               1995; 
               75 
               473-486 
                
             34 
               Resnick L M. 
               Ionic basis of hypertension, insulin resistance, vascular disease, and related disorders.
               The mechanism of “syndrome X”. 
               Am J Hypertens. 
               1993; 
               6 
               123S-134S 
                
             35 
               Reynolds T. 
               The ethics of placebo-controlled trials. 
               Ann Intern Med. 
               2000; 
               133 
               491-492 
                
             36 
               Ricen E, Servis K L, DeRusso P, Kershaw A, Stephen T, Rude R K. 
               Determination of intracellular free magnesium by nuclear magnetic resonance in human
               magnesium deficiency. 
               J Am Coll Nutr. 
               1989; 
               8 
               580-587 
                
             37 
               Rosolova H, Mayer Jr O, Reaven G. 
               Effect of variations in plasma magnesium concentration on resistance to insulin-mediated
               glucose disposal in nondiabetic subjects. 
               J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 
               1997; 
               82 
               3783-3785 
                
             38 
               Schneider R, Lessem J, Lekich H. 
               Pioglitazone is effective in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. Pioglitazone
               001 Study Group. 
               Diabetes. 
               1999; 
               48 (Suppl 1) 
               A109 
                
             39 
               Schulz K, Chalmers I, Altman D. 
               The landscape and lexicon of blinding in randomized trials. 
               Ann Intern Med. 
               2002; 
               136 
               254-259 
                
             40 
               Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of high
               Blood Pressure .
               Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation,
               and Treatment of high Blood Pressure. 
               Arch Intern Med. 
               1997; 
               157 
               2413-2446 
                
             41 
               Tan M H. 
               How Pioglitazone affects glucose and lipid metabolism. 
               Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 
               2000; 
               108 (Suppl 2) 
               S223-S224 
                
             42 
               Temple R, Ellenberg S. 
               Placebo-controlled trials and active-control trials in the evaluation of new treatments.
               Part 1. Ethical and scientific issues. 
               Ann Intern Med. 
               2000; 
               133 
               455-463 
                
             43 
               Tosiello L. 
               Hypomagnesemia and diabetes mellitus. A review of clinical implications. 
               Arch Intern Med. 
               1996; 
               156 
               1143-1146 
                
             44 
               Vanroelen W F, Van Gaal L F, Van Rooy P E, De Leeuw I H. 
               Serum and erythrocyte magnesium levels in type I and type II diabetics. 
               Acta Diabetol Lat. 
               1985; 
               22 
               185-190 
                
          
         
          Fernando Guerrero-Romero 
            Siqueiros 225 esq./Castañeda 
             
            34000 Durango, Dgo. 
             
            Mexico 
             
            Phone: + 526188120997 
             
            Fax: + 52 61 88 13 20 14 
             
            Email: guerrero_romero@hotmail.com  
             
            Email: guerrero_romero@members.nyas.org