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| |  Potassium-Magnesium Citrate Effective In Correcting Thiazide-Induced Side Effects SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Nov. 13, 1998 -- A new study published in this month’s issue of The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology shows that potassium-magnesium citrate is effective and well tolerated in correcting thiazide-induced hypokalemia (low serum potassium) and magnesium loss and in delivering alkalinising effect and citraturic action. "This drug should be particularly valuable in patients taking thiazides or related diuretics which cause renal loss of potassium and magnesium," explained senior study author Charles Pak, M.D., Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "It should be more advantageous than potassium chloride or potassium citrate, neither of which corrects diuretic-induced magnesium depletion. In the presence of magnesium depletion, supplementation with potassium alone without magnesium may not correct diuretic-induced hypokalemia." The study involved 62 men and women divided into three groups. All participants underwent two phases of study, comprised of a Thiazide phase (one to three weeks) followed by a supplement phase (three weeks). Participants were given hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), 50 mg each morning, during both phases. After entering the supplement phase, they were randomised in a double-blinded fashion to receive one of the three potassium-magnesium citrate preparations that delivered the same amount of potassium but different amounts of magnesium and citrate. Prepared by Mission Pharmacal Co., the three preparations were identical in appearance and identified by lot numbers only. All subjects took eight tablets of the code medication daily with four tablets taken after breakfast and four tablets after dinner during the three-week phase -- the HCTZ was continued each morning. The researchers found that, at the same dose of 49 mEq potassium per day, all three preparations were effective in preventing hypokalemia resulting from thiazide treatment. Potassium-magnesium citrate formulated as K4MgCit2 is optimal in both efficacy and side effect profile compared with the other two formulations. K4MgCit2 group increased serum magnesium but K5MgCit2Cl did not. K4MgCit2 was more effective in raising urinary pH and citrate than K5MgCit2Cl. While all supplements were well tolerated, K4MgCit2 was better tolerated than K3MgHCit2. Thiazide diuretics are commonly prescribed for hypertension and other medical conditions and are known to deplete stores of both potassium and magnesium. Depletion of either potassium or magnesium can cause frequent and sometimes serious complications, including muscle weakness, paralysis and cardiac arrhythmia. Further, magnesium depletion is probably under-diagnosed, with more importance placed on potassium depletion, but magnesium depletion, if left uncorrected, can result in potassium depletion. Another use of potassium-magnesium citrate is in the prevention of kidney stones, because this drug increases urinary inhibitors -- citrate and magnesium. The drug was shown to be effective in inhibiting the recurrence of calcium-containing kidney stones in earlier studies.
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