CORRELATION OF HYPOMAGNESEMIA WITH THE ONSET OF CYCLOSPORINE-ASSOCIATED HYPERTENSION IN MARROW TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

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Abstract
Cyclosporine is known to cause hypertension, and we have recently reported that it causes hypomagnesemia and renal magnesium wasting in marrow transplant recipients. We performed a case-control study to ask whether hypomagnesemia might be related to this form of drug-induced hypertension. The charts of 188 patients treated with cyclosporine were evaluated for the development of hypertension. The 32 patients who became hypertensive were age, sex, and disease-matched with 32 cyclosporine-treated controls. Baseline serum Mg levels were normal in both groups. However at the time of development of hypertension, the hypertensive patients had a mean (.+-. SD) Mg of 1.22 .+-. 0.20 mEq/L versus controls 1.40 .+-. 0.33 mEq/L (P < 0.01). Serum calcium, albumin, creatinine, potassium, and cyclosporine concentrations were not different between the two groups. This study may indicate that hypertension and hypomagnesemia are coincident toxicities in cyclosporine-treated patients. Alternatively, our data support the hypothesis that acquired derangements in magnesium metabolism may contribute to the development of hypertension. Magnesium replacement may prove beneficial in the treatment and/or prevention of cyclosporine-associated hypertension.