7/27/2019 Slash Cerebral Palsy Rates

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Epsom Salt Could Slash Cerebral Palsy Rates

Giving an infusion of magnesium sulfate just before delivery to pregnant women who were at highrisk for preterm birth cut the rate of cerebral palsy in the children born by half, a new study found.

This is one of the most promising breakthroughs in the management of high-risk pregnancies in

more than 30 years, said Dr. John Thorp, a study co -author and McAllister distinguished professorof obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The active ingredient we used in this study, magnesium sulfate, is better known as Epsom salt,Thorp said. And virtually every delivery room in the United States is already stocked withmagnesium sulfate solutions that are given to pregnant women during childbirth for other reasons.

So what we have learned from this study is that we have a cheap, widely available treatmentalready in hand that cuts in half the risk of babies being born with an extremely disabling disorder.That is a tremendously exciting development, Thorp said.

In the study, 2,241 women who had been diagnosed at high risk for giving birth prematurely,between 24 and 31 weeks into their pregnancies, were randomized to receive an intravenous

infusion of magnesium sulfate solution or an identically appearing placebo. The infusions werebegun when delivery seemed imminent, at a rate of 6 grams infused over 20-30 minutes followedby a maintenance infusion of 2 grams per hour. If delivery did not occur within 12 hours, the infusionwas stopped and resumed later when delivery once again appeared at hand.

The researchers were looking to see if magnesium sulfate reduced the rate of stillbirth or infantdeath, or reduced the rate of moderate or severe cerebral palsy at or beyond the age of 2 years.They found that the risk of death did not differ significantly between the magnesium sulfate andplacebo groups. However, moderate or severe cerebral palsy occurred about half as often in themagnesium sulfate group than in the placebo group, 1.9 percent versus 3.5 percent.

Doctors who specialize in managing the pregnancies of women at high risk for preterm birth couldbegin using the magnesium sulfate treatment immediately, if they choose to do so, Thorp said.Approval for the treatment from the Food and Drug Administration is not required. In addition, theU.S. and Australian studies are the largest, most rigorously conducted and pertinent trials to dateand are not likely to be replicated, Thorp said.

Epsom Salt Could Slash Cerebral Palsy Rates

Giving an infusion of magnesium sulfate just before delivery to pregnant women who were at highrisk for preterm birth cut the rate of cerebral palsy in the children born by half, a new study found.

This is one of the most promising breakthroughs in the management of high-risk pregnancies inmore than 30 years, said Dr. John Thorp, a study co -author and McAllister distinguished professorof obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The active ingredient we used in this study, magnesium sulfate, is better known as Epsom salt,Thorp said. And virtually every delivery room in the United States is already stocked withmagnesium sulfate solutions that are given to pregnant women during childbirth for other reasons.

So what we have learned from this study is that we have a cheap, widely available treatmentalready in hand that cuts in half the risk of babies being born with an extremely disabling disorder.That is a tremendously exciting development, Thorp said.

7/27/2019 Slash Cerebral Palsy Rates

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In the study, 2,241 women who had been diagnosed at high risk for giving birth prematurely,between 24 and 31 weeks into their pregnancies, were randomized to receive an intravenousinfusion of magnesium sulfate solution or an identically appearing placebo. The infusions werebegun when delivery seemed imminent, at a rate of 6 grams infused over 20-30 minutes followedby a maintenance infusion of 2 grams per hour. If delivery did not occur within 12 hours, the infusionwas stopped and resumed later when delivery once again appeared at hand.

The researchers were looking to see if magnesium sulfate reduced the rate of stillbirth or infantdeath, or reduced the rate of moderate or severe cerebral palsy at or beyond the age of 2 years.They found that the risk of death did not differ significantly between the magnesium sulfate andplacebo groups. However, moderate or severe cerebral palsy occurred about half as often in themagnesium sulfate group than in the placebo group, 1.9 percent versus 3.5 percent.

Doctors who specialize in managing the pregnancies of women at high risk for preterm birth couldbegin using the magnesium sulfate treatment immediately, if they choose to do so, Thorp said.Approval for the treatment from the Food and Drug Administration is not required. In addition, theU.S. and Australian studies are the largest, most rigorously conducted and pertinent trials to dateand are not likely to be replicated, Thorp said.