Exenatide-induced hypomagnesaemia causing seizures

✍ Scribed by Kong, M-F ;Nisal, K

• Book ID: 104513027
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 325 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1357-8170
• DOI: 10.1002/pdi.1504

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A 58‐year‐old Caucasian man with type 2 diabetes diagnosed in 1996 was started on exenatide (Byetta). His weight was 117kg and he had a body mass index (BMI) of 39kg/m^2^. He was taking 126 units of insulin per day with metformin. Previous attempts at weight loss had been unsuccessful. Over a period of six months, he lost 20kg in weight (BMI 30kg/m^2^). He reported nausea and vomiting, attributed to the exenatide, but because he was pleased with the weight loss he wanted to continue on exenatide. He had two episodes of witnessed generalised tonic–clonic seizures. He was teetotal and was not taking diuretics. He was found to be hypomagnesaemic with normal serum calcium and normal 24‐hour urinary magnesium excretion, excluding renal magnesium loss. It was concluded that his seizures were caused by nutritional hypomagnesaemia due to recurrent vomiting as a consequence of exenatide treatment. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons.