Magnesium research: from the beginnings to today.

The beginnings of magnesium research, from the 18th century to the first quarter of the twentieth century, consists mainly of the development of chemical and pharmacological knowledge. The modern period began in 1926 when the essential character of magnesium was acknowledged. The early part of the modern period, up to the 1960s, saw the foundation of our knowledge of the basic physiological, epidemiological and clinical aspects. The present modern period began in 1971 with the First International Symposium on Magnesium and the subsequent creation of SDRM (the international Society for the Development of Research on Magnesium), an international coordinating structure, which promotes the publication of magnesium books (volumes of proceedings and monographs) and of journals: Magnesium Research the international official organ of SDRM and several national journals: the Journal of Japanese Society for Magnesium Research (Japan), the Buletin informativ al societatii romane de cercetare a magneziului (Romania), the Journal of Elementology (Poland) and which regularly organizes national and international meetings. The next great international meeting will be held on October 23-26, 2006 in Osaka (Japan). We will discuss the latest research findings on magnesium in health and disease. The subject shows that today magnesium research remains active in basic sciences and embraces all the facets of pathology.