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THE CONCENTRATIONS OF MAGNESIUM AND POTASSIUM IN ERYTHROCYTES AND PLASMA OF GERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
Author(s) -
Brackenridge C. J.,
McDonald C.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb107155.x
Subject(s) - senile dementia , dementia , potassium , magnesium , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , medicine , psychology , psychiatry , chemistry , disease , organic chemistry
Groups of female geriatric patients with toxic confusional states, senile dementia (with subdivision according to parietal lobe function), and chronic schizophrenia were matched with mentally healthy persons with respect to number, sex, and age. Magnesium and potassium concentrations were measured in red blood cells and plasma of ill and control subjects. Significantly high intracellular potassium and less consistently raised magnesium levels were found in all psychiatric categories. In chronic schizophrenia, hypermagnesæmia was also demonstrated. Possible reasons for these anomalies are considered. Strong linear correlations were observed between each of three variables, duration of institutionalization and erythrocyte potassium and water contents, in mentally normal persons and between the latter pair in two groups of demented patients. In senile dementia, subjects with preserved parietal lobe function had a higher mean age and corpuscular potassium and water content than those and non‐confused demented patients, is discussed, with functionally deteriorated lobes. The possible role of improved water balance in determining these changes, and also those between confused