Magnesium taurate for the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia.

The use of parenteral magnesium sulfate for the management of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia is well established. In striking analogy to the effects of hypermagnesemia, taurine has antivasospastic, antihypertensive, platelet-stabilizing, anticonvulsant and hypoxia-protective properties. Thus parenteral magnesium taurate can reasonably be proposed as a superior alternative to magnesium sulfate in the treatment of pre-eclampsia; administered orally as a component of prenatal supplementation, magnesium taurate might well have both preventive and therapeutic value in this syndrome. In the light of the hypoxia-protective actions of both magnesium and taurine, such supplementation might also protect fetuses experiencing temporary perinatal asphyxia, lessening the risk of cerebral palsy.