Moderate Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Clinical Trial
Official title:
A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Hypothermia Plus Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4) Versus Therapeutic Hypothermia Plus Placebo in the Management of Term and Near Term Babies With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
The purpose of this study is to assess whether the addition of a drug such as Magnesium sulphate while providing therapeutic hypothermia (or cooling) to babies who are asphyxiated at birth provides additional benefit to the babies' survival and outcome compared to cooling alone.
Perinatal Asphyxia continues to be a major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity even in
the most technologically advanced and prosperous countries of the world. The incidence
remains unchanged; 1-2% of live births in developed world countries and much higher in
developing world countries. Perinatal Asphyxia is a multisystem disorder. Neonatal brain is
the most important organ affected by Asphyxic insult because the resulting neuronal damage
is permanent. Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), the pathognomonic clinical syndrome of
asphyxic neuronal insult, occurs in 50-60% of babies with Perinatal Asphyxia. Moderate and
severe HIE causes significant neonatal mortality and morbidity. Among patients with moderate
HIE, 10-20% die and 30-40% develop neurological deficit, whereas 50% of patients with severe
HIE die and almost all survivors develop neurological deficits. Hence the toll on the
society continues to be very high in spite of dramatic improvements in neonatal intact
survival, particularly in developed world countries.
Until recent years, the management of HIE was limited to supportive intensive care only
because there was no specific treatment available to rescue neurons during HIE. However,
over the last decade, therapeutic Hypothermia, has emerged as a promising new therapy in
reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity due to HIE. This is due to improved understanding
of the physiology of neuronal damage during asphyxia insult. Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
(HIE) is a dynamic process which evolves over a period of seventy two hours starting from
the time of insult. Two distinct episodes of neuronal damage occur during this time:
1. The immediate (primary) hypoxic insult followed by a
2. latent period of recovery which lasts for almost six hours.
This is followed by a much longer and profound period of secondary neuronal damage due to
the release of chemical mediators. Therapeutic modalities which can potentially reduce the
release of these chemical mediators will provide neuronal rescue. Moderate controlled
hypothermia (33.5-34.5 0C) offered during the first 72 hours after the asphyxic insult is
one such therapeutic modality which has been the subject of animal studies as well as
extensive multicenter trails in human infants over the last two decades.
The studies on animal models have not only confirmed the safety of moderate therapeutic
hypothermia; they have also shown a dramatic neuronal rescue in experimental HIE model of
lambs subjected to prolonged therapeutic hypothermia immediately after birth. This was
followed by pilot RCT's in human infants; the outcomes of which were very encouraging.
However a universal change of practice requires large well designed multicenter trails and
Meta analyses.
After having established therapeutic hypothermia as a safe and effective modality for
neuroprotection in HIE, the neonatologists are facing a new question. Can the investigators
enhance the neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hypothermia by adding other potential
neuroprotective agents? These potential therapeutic agents include Xenon, Erythropoetin,
Magnisium sulphate, Allopurinol, opoids, Topiramate, Inhaled Nitric Oxide (iNO),
N-Acetylcystine, Minocycline and Melatonin.13,17 Due to their different mechanisms of
action, it is likely that these neuroprotective therapies may add incrementally to the
proven beneficial effects of hypothermia. Indeed hypothermia may buy additional time for
these neuroprotective agents to act within an expanded 'therapeutic window'.13 These
Hypothermia plus therapies are going to be the subject of many new RCT's worldwide over the
next few years.
Magnesium Sulphate, a potential neuroprotective agent, acts by reducing neuronal
excitotoxicity. MgSO4 has long been used in Obstertrics as a tocolytic agent and has a
proven neuroprotective effect in preterm babies born to mothers tocolyzed with MgSO4. A
recently conducted RCT in human neonates has compared postnatal magnesium sulfate with
placebo in the management of Neonatal HIE. This study, which did not use hypothermia therapy
due to lack of facilities, has shown that treatment with MgSO4 improves neurologic outcomes
at discharge in term neonates with severe perinatal asphyxia. The animal studies done by
Knuckley's group has compared a combination of therapeutic hypothermia and MgSO4 with
therapeutic hypothermia alone. In their rat model MgSO4 alone had a minimal beneficial
effect. However, MgSO4 plus hypothermia had a significant beneficial effect in reducing the
size of the post asphyxia infarct. This animal focal stroke model provides an intriguing
suggestion that hypothermia plus MgSO4 provides an additive neuroprotection. No human
studies have been done so far to test the difference between therapeutic hypothermia alone
and therapeutic hypothermia plus MgSO4. Mag Cool Study (Hypothermia plus MgSO4 Vs
Hypothermia plus placebo) will test this hypothesis.
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Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Prevention