A stroke of holistic genius

Few of us who practiced emergency medicine made as radical a switch as I did. I went from emergency medicine to holistic medicine - from hero to goat, in the minds of most of my colleagues.

Back in the 1970s, I was using magnesium as an emergency measure to treat stroke patients. 

UCLA researchers conducted a study that provides some of the science behind this treatment. UCLA researchers worked with Los Angeles paramedics to initiate intravenous magnesium treatment for stroke victims on their way to the hospital.

The study revealed that magnesium protects the brain from the severe damage that can be caused during strokes by dilating the blood vessels in the brain and preventing the buildup of calcium, which damages injured nerve cells. The researchers reported "dramatic" recovery results in 25 percent of patients receiving the en-route magnesium therapy.

Researchers were so encouraged by the study's results that a much larger trial is under way. I will continue to follow the story and report back.