Are elevated admission calcium levels associated with better outcomes after ischemic stroke?

Calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) influence the molecular pathways of ischemic neuronal death. The authors evaluated the impact of admission serum Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ levels, on incident stroke severity and discharge functional outcome. After adjusting for covariates, higher admission Ca²⁺ was significantly associated with lesser stroke severity and better discharge functional outcome. Admission Mg²⁺ was not an independent clinical outcome prognosticator.