The Effects of Magnesium, l-Carnitine, and Concurrent Magnesium–l-Carnitine Supplementation in Migraine Prophylaxis

Abstract

Given the conflicting results about the positive effects of magnesium and L-carnitine and as there is no report concerning concurrent supplementation of magnesium and L-carnitine on migraine prophylaxis, the effects of magnesium, L-carnitine, and concurrent magnesium-L-carnitine supplementation on migraine indicators were assessed. In this clinical trial, 133 migrainous patients were randomly assigned into three intervention groups: magnesium oxide (500 mg/day), L-carnitine (500 mg/day), and Mg-L-carnitine (500 mg/day magnesium and 500 mg/day L-carnitine), and a control group. After 12 weeks of supplementation, the checklist of migraine indicators including migraine attacks/month, migraine days/month, and headache severity was completed, and serum concentrations of magnesium and L-carnitine were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and enzymatic UV test, respectively. The results showed a significant reduction in all migraine indicators in all studied groups (p < 0.05). The ANOVA results showed a significant reduction in migraine frequency across various supplemented and control groups (p = 0.008). By separating the effects of magnesium supplementation from other confounding factors such as routine treatments using the repeated measures and nested model, it was clarified that magnesium supplementation had a significant effect on all migraine indicators. Oral supplementation with magnesium oxide and L-carnitine and concurrent supplementation of Mg-L-carnitine besides routine treatments could be effective in migraine prophylaxis; however, larger trials are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Metabolomics Strategy Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Reveals Novel Biomarkers and Pain-Relief Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription Wu-Zhu-Yu Decoction Acting on Headache Modelling Rats

“…For the other identified potential markers, a previous study showed that low serum carnitine level might be one of the trigger of headache attack, which coincided with our study [ 25 ]. Cholecalciferol was demonstrated as down-regulated in the study, and it had been listed as a biomarker of headache in many reported studies on headache patients [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

The Role of Magnesium in Neurological Disorders

“…magnesium was significantly more effective at migraine relief in individuals with aura than placebo at 60 min post administration ( p < 0.05) [ 24 ]. A more recent meta-analysis by Chiu et al in 2016, reviewed a larger sample of randomized clinical trials with 11 studies investigating the effects of intravenous magnesium on acute migraines [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] and 10 studies investigating the effects of oral magnesium on migraine prophylaxis [ 16 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Using odds ratios, it was concluded that i.v.…”

Current Experience in Testing Mitochondrial Nutrients in Disorders Featuring Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Rational Design of Chemoprevention Trials

“…Nine controlled clinical trials for CARN—mostly ALC—were conducted in a total of 384 patients with some neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, migraine, sciatica, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ 68 , 247 , 248 , 249 , 250 , 251 , 252 , 253 , 254 ]. A report by Memeo and Loiero [ 68 ] compared the effects of treating sciatica patients with either ALA or ALC, and found significant protective effects from both of these agents detected as improvements from baseline in neuropathy on electromyography.…”

“…Tarighat Esfanjani et al [ 249 ] evaluated the effects of magnesium, CARN, and concurrent magnesium-CARN supplementation in migraine prophylaxis. Migrainous patients were randomly assigned into three intervention groups: magnesium oxide vs. CARN vs. Mg-CARN, and a control group.…”