By Catherine Guthrie Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Advances in neonatal science have made it possible to save some of the most delicate and prematurely born babies, but there is a potential downside. Preterm birth accounts for about a third of all cases of cerebral palsy, a developmental brain disorder that strikes 2 out of every 1,000 infants born in the United States. Some experts worry that as more and more preemies survive, rates of cerebral palsy will climb in lockstep."If we keep accelerating the rate at which we are able to save these very little babies, we are likely to see more cases of cerebral palsy, in which case we haven't saved them neurologically," says Dr. Deborah Hirtz, a pediatric neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
But a new $25 million study, published Aug. 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests a familiar tool may help stem the tide. Researchers, including co-author Hirtz, found that when physicians gave an infusion of magnesium sulfate to women at imminent risk for preterm delivery — between 24 and 31 weeks of gestation — the odds of their infants later developing cerebral palsy dropped by almost half. The study, which took more than a decade to conduct, involved 2,241 women at an immediate risk of premature delivery, who were randomized to receive either intravenous magnesium sulfate or placebo in the hours before giving birth.
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