Magnesium: Prevention of Cerebral Palsy

The Australian – Light at End of The Tunnel – Cerebral Palsy Preventable

Magnesium sulphate treatment is now written into Australia’s official National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines, which outline what treatments should be given for premature birth. Incredibly, although estimates predict that the number of cerebral palsy cases in Australia would be cut by 90 each year if every hospital used magnesium sulphate in very preterm births, not every hospital is providing it.

Neonatologist Nadia Badawi, who has researched cerebral palsy extensively, believes magnesium sulphate has the potential to cut the rate of cerebral palsy in very preterm babies by a further 30 per cent. The idea that cerebral palsy can be prevented — and maybe even cured — may not be far behind.

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