The Effect of Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate in Improvement of Acute Ischemic Stroke Induced Disability: A Randomized Double Blinded Clinical Trial

Background: Stroke is the third main cause of death and chronic disabilities in adults, which requires finding neuroprotective drugs to reduce its mortality and morbidity.  Objectives: To determine the efficacy of magnesium sulfate as an adjunctive neuroprotective agent in patients with stroke. Materials & Methods: This randomized double-blind clinical trial recruited 120 patients with acute ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory presenting to Ahvaz Golestan Hospital from 2015 to 2016. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups. The first group received 4 grams bolus intravenous magnesium sulfate and then 16 grams/24 hours for 5 consecutive days. The second group received normal saline as placebo. Functional disability was assessed on admission and at the end of the first and third months after stroke by modified National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (mNIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale Score (mRSS). Qualitative variables were compared using chi-square test in SPSS V. 16. Results: The results showed that difference of the mean mNIHSS, before (P=0.596) and one (P=0.512) and three (P=0.664) months after the treatment was not statistically significant between magnesium and placebo groups. Also it was true for mRSS before (P=0.669) and three month (P= 0.878) after the treatment.  Conclusion: IV magnesium sulfate probably did not have significant positive effects on the outcome of patients with acute middle cerebral artery infarction. Studies on larger populations are recommended to show its possible effects.