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Epsom Salt Could Cut Reduce Risk of Cerebral Palsy in Preterm Babies
Cerebral palsy refers to a group of neurological disorders affecting control of movement and posture that limit activity. Brain damage may occur during pregnancy or early childhood. Its causes are not well understood, but a third of all cases are associated with preterm birth, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Moderate or severe cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 1.9 per cent of women treated with injections of magnesium sulphate better known as Epsom salts compared to 3.5 per cent in those who were given a placebo, researchers report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
The study included 2,241 mothers who were at high risk for delivering between 24 and 31 weeks of gestation. Babies are considered to be premature if they are born before 37 weeks are completed.
The findings mean 30 women who are less than 28 weeks into pregnancy would need to be treated to prevent one case of moderate to severe cerebral palsy, said the study's lead author, Dr. Dwight Rouse, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"This is a major advance," said study author Dr. Catherine Spong, chief of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Our results show that obstetricians can use magnesium sulphate, which they have experience prescribing, to reduce the risk of a devastating condition, cerebral palsy, in preterm infants."
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