Skeletal muscle injury after magnesium depletion in the dog

Magnesium deficiency was induced in a setting of an otherwise adequate diet in adult beagle dogs. Despite the development of severe hypomagnesemia (from 1.5 +/- 0.2 to 0.5 +/- 0.2 meq/liter) during the 10-wk study, Mg content of skeletal muscle fell only modestly (from 3.8 +/- 0.2 to 3.1 +/- 0.4, P less than 0.005, at 7 wk and 3.5 +/- 0.4 mM/100 g FFDS, NS, at 10 wk). The most pronounced muscle compositional changes were a loss of phosphorus (from 29.5 +/- 1.8 to 22.0 +/- 1.6, P less than 0.001, at 7 wk and 24.8 +/- 2.8 mM/100 G FFDS, P less than 0.001, at 10 wk) and gains of calcium (from 0.64 +/- 0.11 to 0.93 +/- 0.17, P less than 0.05, at 7 wk, and 0.85 +/- 0.26 mM/100 g FFDS, P less than 0.05, at 10 wk), sodium (from 13.2 +/- 2.6 to 22.9 +/- 4.7, P less than 0.001 at 7 wk and 17.8 +/- 2.0 meq/100 g FFDS, P less than 0.005, at 10 wk), and chloride (from 5.8 +/- 0.8 to 8.2 +/- 1.6, P less than 0.001, at 7 wk and 6.8 +/- 0.6 meq/100 g FFDS, P less than 0.05, at 10 wk). Cellular potassium content did not change (from 35.9 +/- 1.9 to 33.0 +/- 4.1, NS, at 7 wk and 36.3 +/- 2.0 meq/100 g FFDS, NS, at 10 wk). Muscle cell electrical hyperpolarization developed after 10 wk of Mg depletion. Convulsive seizures developed in three animals. Frank rhabdomyolysis in three animals and focal necrosis in four animals were present on terminal biopsy, with only four animals having completely normal histology.