Magnesium cuts risk of cerebral palsy, according to study in New ...

Tag : magnesium

Doctors still can't definitively say how it helps, but they knowthat magnesium given to pregnant women before they deliverprematurely cuts down on the chances of their baby developingcerebral palsy.
The findings of a seven-year study showing these results are beingpublished in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
The study involved more than 2,200 women at 20 different sitesacross the country, including MetroHealth Medical Center inCleveland.
MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University are part of theMaternal Fetal Medicine Network Unit, under the auspices of theNational Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver NationalInstitute of Child Health and Human Development.
The unit focuses on perinatal studies to improve maternal and fetaloutcome, especially issues related to pre-term birth.
"Up until now, we've given magnesium sulfate only to preventpre-term birth or to prevent preeclampsia," said Dr. Brian Mercer,director of both the division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine andobstetrics at MetroHealth. Preeclampsia is the leading cause ofmaternal and fetal death in the United States.
"This study, combined with two previous studies, suggests thatgiving magnesium before early pre-term birth could be beneficial,"he said.
About 8,000 infants each year in the United States are diagnosedwith cerebral palsy, which is a term that describes a group ofchronic conditions that affect body movement and musclecoordination.
Brain damage to an infant before, during, or shortly after birth;or during infancy, causes cerebral palsy.
Often, the condition isn't detected until several months afterbirth.
Women who were at high risk of delivering between 24 and 31 weeksof pregnancy or who were expected to deliver early within 24 hourswere randomly selected to take intravenous magnesium or a matchingplacebo.
After delivery, the women and children underwent three follow-upvisits at ages six months, 12 months and 24 months.
Researchers concluded that magnesium given to women at risk forearly pre-term delivery reduced the risk of a child developingmoderate/severe cerebral palsy by age 2.
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