Magnesium: the secret remedy for childhood asthma

Childhood asthma can be a frightening, and sometimes dangerous, problem. Standard bronchodilators don’t always work, or can have serious side-effects.

So, with these concerns in mind, researchers wanted to find a safer therapy that was just as good as the nebulized bronchilator. They tested an infusion of magnesium sulfate (40 mg per kg of body weight) against a saline placebo over a 20-minute period. At the end of the infusion, the magnesium group had a significantly greater percentage improvement, an improvement that got better by 110 minutes after infusion.

The study supports earlier ones that also found that intravenous magnesium was an effective therapy against asthma, and particularly during an acute attack. (Source: Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 2000; 154: 979-983).

Related WDDTY Content

Magnesium: the secret remedy for childhood asthma

Magnesium may be a safe alternative to bronchodilators when children are suffering a severe asthma attack. When an infusion of magnesium sulphate (40...

Intravenous magnesium helps severe asthma

Yet another trial has confirmed the usefulness of intravenous magnesium therapy as a treatment for severe asthma, according to a new double-blind, pla...

Terbutaline infusion

Terbutaline infusion normally reserved for treating asthma and bronchitis is being used on women in the US to help their pregnancies go to term. It h...

Mineral salt improves breathing in asthmatics

An intravenous solution of magnesium sulphate may be the best way to treat patients suffering from acute asthma attacks. That's the conclusion of two...

Heart attacks: vitamin cure

Intravenous magnesium has been found to reduce early death from heart attacks. ...

Cholesterol drug no better than placebo-specialist

Pravastatin, the cholesterol lowering drug, is no better than placebo, a leading heart specialist has concluded. For every case of heart attack the d...