New Study Finds High Magnesium Intake Helps Reduce Fear and Anxiety

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A supplemented intake of magnesium is found to enhance the brain's ability to reduce fear and anxiety responses, making way for a possible supplemental treatment for many anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, specific phobias and others. In the October  2011 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, top neuroscientists at Tsinghua University in Beijing, University of Texas, and University of Toronto revealed that by increasing the extracellular magnesium concentration in the brain through a new magnesium compound called Magtein™, the cognitive ability – an essential facility that controls fear and anxiety – is enhanced. This development becomes extremely significant considering anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, affecting 18% of the population(1).

Anxiety disorders can be triggered by fear and thus, affect cognitive functioning. When in danger, fear is essential for survival. This fear triggers the brain to respond with many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger or to avoid it. This response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm.

But in anxiety disorders this reaction is enhanced so that the fear memory continues even when one is no longer in danger, affecting cognitive ability on a daily basis. 

"Through our study, we found that increasing brain magnesium with Magtein enhances not only the learning and memory ability, but also top-down inhibition of fear memory of rats," explains Dr. Guosong Liu, one of the study's principal scientists. "When the cognitive ability is enhanced, fear responses such as anxiety-like and PTSD-like behaviors, are controlled."

According to Liu, the use of a high magnesium treatment induces a unique pattern of action on brain regions involved in and responsible for the body's emotional processes. It heightens the function of the prefrontalcortex, a brain region involved in controlling fear responses, without affecting the function of amygdala – the brain's evolutionary conserved region involved in fear memory formation and storage. "By increasing brain magnesium through Magtein, cognitive ability goes up, fear memory remains unchanged".

Liu and colleagues say that Magtein is a potential supplement to cognitive therapy and treatment against phobias, PTSD, and other anxiety-related disorders. Their findings are found in the latest issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, titled "Magnesium Intake Enhances Retention of Extinction."

About Magtein™

Magtein™ is a new magnesium functional ingredient that addresses aging-related memory decline and cognitive dysfunction. Magtein, or Magnesium L-threonate, is a patented and trademarked macro mineral that is the next key compound for reduced memory loss and improved cognitive health. Synapses are the connections between brain cells that create the brain's communication network. Aging and daily stress induce dysfunction and loss of synapses, resulting in significant memory loss. Magtein helps prevent cognitive decline by meeting the problem at its root cause – preventing synapse loss in the brain.*

About AIDP, Inc.

AIDP has been a trusted source for core functional ingredients since 1996. Specializing in the area of anti-aging for bone, joint and cognitive health, AIDP is established by solid research breakthroughs and proprietary ingredients. AIDP's mission is to achieve the highest standards in customer satisfaction through cutting-edge product innovation and superior service.

For more information about AIDP, please call (866) 262-6699 or visit www.AIDP.com. For media related inquiries, please contact Rajan De Los Santos of Christie Communications (www.christiecomm.com) at (805) 969-3744 or [email protected].

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

(1) http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

SOURCE AIDP, Inc.