Common Linkage

9/21/2020

This past week I started to wonder about the similarities between different types of neurological disorders, and if they could be connected either through the neural pathways they shared or even the chemical imbalance that triggers or even causes the disorder. Although, I did not find any clear pattern one chemical that stood out was magnesium. The primary function of magnesium is to block the calcium channel in NMDA receptor to ensure that an environment of excitotoxicity(cell death due to overexcitement of neurons) does not occur within the neuron cells. This type of excessive excitation has been considered as primary factor in both the cause of migraines and epilepsy as it allows for a situation of pain or even cell death. Magnesium has also been indicated as a possible treatment for many neurological diseases such as stroke or even Parkinson's and, although, the evidence gathered as if right now is at best fragile it does merit further study into the topic. However, this week truly brought me more questions than answers such as the idea of using magnesium as a treatment for vascular pain, and asking could the deficiency of magnesium lead to future problems not only for the brain, but also the heart. I also questioned the process by which some doctors prescribe magnesium as an anti-depressant post-surgery to improve patients mood. This week I was successful in finding the links between different neurological disorders and their relation to even different regions in the body. As I continue to study this subject I wish to look at epileptic seizures and migraines in order to find a commonality between these two disorders regarding their neural pathway.