Article

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a serious neurological
condition encountered in various medical fields. Pathophysiological factor(s)
common to PRES cases of apparently unrelated etiologies are yet to be found.
Based on the hypothesis that hypomagnesemia might participate in the cascade
leading to PRES, our study sought to verify whether hypomagnesemia is frequently
associated with PRES regardless of etiology. From a retrospective study of a
cohort of 57 patients presenting with PRES of different etiologies, presented
here are the findings of 19 patients with available serum magnesium levels (SMLs)
during PRES. In the acute phase of PRES, hypomagnesemia was present in all 19
patients in spite of differences in etiology (including immunosuppressive drugs,
hypertensive encephalopathy, eclampsia, systemic lupus erythematosus, iatrogenic
etiology and unknown). SMLs were within normal ranges prior to PRES and below
normal ranges during the first 48h of PRES, with a significant decrease in SMLs
during the acute phase. In this retrospective study, constant hypomagnesemia was
observed during the acute phase of PRES regardless of its etiology. These results
now require larger studies to assess the particular importance of acute
hypomagnesemia in PRES and especially the possible need to treat PRES with
magnesium sulfate.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS