Talk:Magnesium L-threonate

Researchers conflict of interest

As a supplement, this product is sold for 5 to 10 times the price of other supplements, probably because, according to http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU700/ItemDetail it was developed by MIT researchers, with 7 patents pending.

Patented supplements cost more, but sometimes prove ultimately to provide fewer health benefits in humans, e.g., chromium picolinate.

It is true that patented supplements often cost more than their unpatented counterparts. However, it’s important to keep in mind that pricing for supplements is affected by many factors, including the cost of research, development, and manufacturing, as well as supply and demand. Magnesium L-threonate is the result of nearly 20 years of research and development, by doctors and scientists at Stanford University, MIT, and Tsinghua University. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

It is also true that Magnesium L-threonate typically costs more than other magnesium supplements. Magnesium L-threonate is frequently compared to other magnesium supplements; however, it is quite different in terms of how it works and what it does. Unlike magnesium L-threonate, other magnesium formulations do not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, and therefore remain in the periphery. Accordingly, other magnesium formulations primarily provide dietary magnesium, and are therefore more likely to cause gastrointestinal distress (upset stomach, diarrhea). Magnesium L-threonate, on the other hand, supplies magnesium to neurons in the brain, which requires much smaller amounts of elemental magnesium than is recommended for diet. This ability of magnesium L-threonate to cross the blood-brain barrier and into neurons is related to the L-threonate, which other magnesium formulations lack. The L-threonate component of magnesium L-threonate acts to chaperone magnesium through glucose transporters, allowing it to replenish age- and dementia-associated neuronal magnesium deficits, which quells hyperactive neurons and facilitates synaptogenesis and synaptic restructuring. L-threonate also has other biological effects that likely contribute to the effects of magnesium L-threonate on cognition, mood, and sleep. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Also, to update this page, as of May 2, 2017, the developers of magnesium L-threonate (Drs. Guosong Liu and Fei Mao of Magceutics, Inc.) have 11 U.S. patents on the product (9,616,038; 9,125,878; 8,734,855; 8,637,061; 8,470,352; 8,377,473; 8,178,133; 8,178,132; 8,178,118; 8,163,301; 8,142,803), and other patents pending. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Of concern is that the compound may have been patented by the same M.I.T. researchers whose preliminary rat studies currently stand alone in suggesting the compelling health benefits of avoiding dementia and balding -- (what's not to like?)

The idea that MgT could have effects on balding is based on research demonstrating that L-threonate (in the form of calcium L-threonate) can inhibit the capacity of dihydrotestosterone to induce dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) expression, which been shown to contribute to balding. This research was done by researchers at the Dr. Ahn Medical Hair Clinic in Seoul Korea, who are unaffiliated with Magceutics, its partner companies, or the developers of MgT. While this research has been published, the developers of magnesium L-threonate have never claimed that MgT may prevent or treat balding, and, to our knowledge, this possibility has never been empirically tested in animals. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

It’s reasonable to have some level of skepticism when there is a perceived conflict of interest. However, it is to be expected that the patent holder will conduct research on the compound to explore its full therapeutic potential. In fact, the market exclusivity provided by patent protection can actually enable the patent holder to fund research. High quality research costs can be high and can potentially be economically unfeasible without a patent to protect against market flooding. In this case, the supporting research was carried out with the highest level of scientific rigor by numerous scientists at some of the world’s most esteemed Universities, and these findings have been published in respected, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

In the last few years, other groups have independently replicated and expanded data regarding the cognition-enhancing properties of magnesium L-threonate. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Moreover, the comparison of the patented product to other magnesium formulations is based on unpublished original research, and subject to sample selection (reporting only on the compounds that did not prove as bioavailable).

These data have been published. A paper published in the journal Neuron in 2010 reports that magnesium L-threonate is superior to other common commercially available magnesium salts (magnesium chloride and magnesium citrate) at improving cognition in rats. Additionally, a 2016 paper in Neuropharmacology demonstrates that L-threonate is unique in its ability to supply magnesium to neurons and to increase synaptic terminal density in cultured hippocampal neurons, compared to other anions that are commonly chelated to magnesium in OTC supplements (citrate, gluconate, malate, and glycinate). In that study, malate, citrate, and gluconate were selected for comparison because they are structurally similar to threonate as sugar acids, and glycinate was selected because it is purported to promote cation absorption in the periphery. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

The researchers for the preliminary health studies, and the partial and unpublished bioavailability study, if they own the rights to the compound, are anything but objective.

It is standard practice in the pharmaceutical industry for the same company that invents and characterizes a compound to then patent it and carry out research, not all of which is published. Despite their obvious interest in generating positive data, there are still numerous checks in place to ensure that investigators conduct the research ethically, objectively, and with integrity. Drs. Liu and Mao maintain exemplary scientific integrity and rigor, and the same goes for their numerous collaborators and colleagues, who were involved in the research but do not own rights to the compound. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

The POV having an article making health claims based on research by the owners of the article should be corrected by pointing out the conflict of interest, the preclinical nature of the health studies, and the unpublished and possibly incomplete nature of the report on brain availability.

Dr. Liu strives to refrain from drawing conclusions or making speculations that are not firmly based in substantial empirical data, and is always transparent about his role as an inventor and developer of magnesium L-threonate. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Even if magnesium is good for the brain (or keeping one's hair) results for only a few of the large number of more affordable magnesium compounds were reported.

As noted above, published studies have compared magnesium L-threonate to magnesium citrate, chloride, gluconate, malate, and glycinate, which together constitute the majority of other available magnesium formulations sold as supplements. That research was not meant to be exhaustive; rather, the investigators opted to test only those candidate anions that were most likely, based on their chemical properties, to replicate the effects of L-threonate. Also, as noted above, the developers of magnesium L-threonate have never made claims regarding its potential for preventing baldness. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

The research leading to these reports is subsumed within the major study as "unpublished." The possibility that this research could not pass peer review, or even that other compounds not reported on have as good or better brain availability as the compound owned by the researchers, is obvious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ocdnctx (talk • contribs) 18:39, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

Point well taken. The vast proportion of claims made for supplements are not supported by good evidence. This article should state clearly that the evidence is very limited, and even that the toxicity of the chemical is unknown. Nicmart (talk) 12:38, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

This is a fair critique of the Slutsky et al., 2010 Neuron paper, which does reference unpublished bioavailability data. However, the 2016 Neuropharmacology paper by Sun et al., provides compelling evidence to support the bioavailability of magnesium L-threonate. Specifically, that paper showed that oral administration of magnesium L-threonate in drinking water increases threonate levels in cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting that the compound is absorbed. Furthermore, that paper demonstrated that L-threonate, but not citrate, gluconate, malate, or glycinate, is effective at increasing intraneuronal magnesium. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

China's largest Magnesium L-threonate powder factory

References

The author of the rat study suggesting benefits and the owner and patenter of the proprietary product are Liu G. / Guosong Liu

Slutsky I, Abumaria N, Wu LJ, Huang C, Zhang L, Li B, Zhao X, Govindarajan A, Zhao MG, Zhuo M, Tonegawa S, Liu G.

Enhancement of learning and memory by elevating brain magnesium.

Neuron. 2010 Jan 28;65(2):165-77. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.12.026.

Could be the same as Dr. Guosong Liu, a principal in Magceutics

"Guosong Liu, MD, Ph.D. (Chairman, President, Co-Founder)" says the home page at http://www.magtein.com/ accessed 2013 July 8.

And named as inventor of the proprietary formulation in

United States Patent Application Appl. No.: 12/829,361 Filed: Jul. 1, 2010 by Liu et al.

Listing:

Inventors: Guosong LIU, Palo Alto, CA (US); Fei MAO, Fremont, CA (US)

Assignee: Magceutics, Inc., Hayward, CA (US)

It is not uncommon for a scientist who devotes part of his/her life’s work to developing a potential therapeutic compound to patent that compound, and then to embark on a careful, and data-driven research campaign to explore and elucidate the therapeutic potential of that compound. Magceutics (talk) 01:57, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

There *have* been human studies.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36558392/ 2600:4040:5012:7500:3DC4:872E:686B:4C27 (talk) 20:02, 10 May 2023 (UTC)