Innovative Products Research & Services, Inc.
        a 501(3)(c) non profit organization based in Massachusetts with offices in NH and NC
                   Putting Creativity to Good Use

  What is the Maternal and Infant Health Initiative?

The Maternal and Infant Health Initiative of IPRS arose out of the recognition that every year thousands of women and child die because they lack adequate nutrition.  One element of nutrition that is most often over-looked is the mineral magnesium (Mg).  In fact in most cases it is not even mentioned and rarely are tests done for blood levels of magnesium.  Yet, low blood levels of magnesium ions (hypomagnesemia) are frequently encountered in the general population and most especially in women who have little access to good medical care and little access to a food that provides all the vitamins and minerals that are needed for the mother and for the normal development of the child. 

The nutritional demands of the mother change during the pregnancy.  In the third trimester, there is increasing risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).  The most natural means of treating the high blood pressure is through raising the intake of magnesium although there are also other treatment options.  It is well established that if the blood pressure rises too much and results in protein loss into the urine there is condition of pre-eclampsia or toxemia.  Taken to extreme there is a risk of convulsions in the brain that can be fatal.  Other reactions also accompany this extreme and critical condition including excessive swelling of the body (edema) and immunological reactions between mother and infant.

The concern for adequate Mg in the diet persists after delivery of the infant since nursing mothers require additional Mg.  There is also a concern of the infant in receiving adequate nutrition.  If the mother has low levels of magnesium, it is likely that the infant will also have low levels which can produce adverse effects on them.  This concern for the infant begins while still in the womb.  Evidence suggest the normal development of the fetus is also dependent upon adequate mineral intake.

It is well established that infusions of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) are a preferred treatment of mothers in eclampsia as indicated by the convulsions.  Thus there is a precedence for use of Mg in the extreme cases and many studies suggest there can be a great benefit in the milder cases (of preeclampsia).  Despite this, many health care providers do not test for Mg levels and do not suggest that pregnant women take mineral supplements that include Mg.  In fact, our surveys indicate that there is often little information provided to women about nutrition in general and there is even often misinformation about the importance of various food groups, nutritional supplements and even one's water supply (that often provides the minerals calcium, magnesium and even some iron).

The IPRS Initiative on Maternal and Infant Health  therefore was launched to address this urgent problem.

Our initiative includes advocacy to the medical community, to policy makers and legislative committees.

Outreach to women and their care providers and support groups to provide better information and guidance to minimize risks of pregnancy.  Develop educational pieces for all tiers of health care decision-makers.

Research is needed for better diagnostic tools and for their implementation into standard clinical practice.  Clinical research is also needed to confirm the Risk Assessment models. Agricultural research is needed to find new and better food sources that provide high levels of essential vitamins and minerals.  Research is also urgently needed to determine genetic risk factors that would alter our assessments of who needs to be treated and who should not be treated.

Cross-Cultural Programs are needed to reach those who are most at risk with economical and practical testing, risk assessment, diagnosis and treatment options.  This will need to be a multi-language and multi-country approach to reach those most at risk.

   Why Magnesium?

Magnesium in its ionic form is one of the essential electrolytes in all life forms.  It plays a key role in membrane integrity, in cross-membrane transport  systems and in stability of numerous enzymes and biochemical compounds.  To date we know that there are hormones or other regulatory chemicals (including ion channel proteins) responsible for influencing the update, discharge and activity of the other primary cationic electrolytes in the body, sodium, potassium and calcium.  However, there has been relatively little effort to identify an equivalent hormone playing such a role in magnesium utilization.  We have coined the term Magnetonin for this missing hormone.

  What is the Potential Implication?

Muscle and nerve membranes, so-called excitable tissues, are very likely to be impacted by inadequate regulation of magnesium.  There are many nerve and muscle diseases that could be treated by the yet to be discovered Magnetonin.  Diseases such as muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, et al. are all based on nerve or muscle function.  The regulation of cell division may also be susceptible to magnesium metabolism deficiencies thus opening up the possibility of an underlying link with cancer.  Metabolic disorders and immune system malfunctions also have enzymes in their metabolic pathways that are Mg-dependent.  Thus, the implications can be very broad.  Many publications will be added to our database along with references to other publications dealing with the importance of magnesium in transport of materials across membranes, transport of materials within cells and integrity of proteins and enzymes.

  How Is This Being Implemented?

Implementation is taking place with the use of dozens of volunteers from across the country.  We are developing multiple web sites to address specific areas and facilitate sharing of information.  A Magnesium Portal.  is one such site that is under development.  Another is a site dedicated to the discovery of and effects of a magnesium regulating hormone, Magnetonin. Gathering, sharing and analyzing large amounts of diverse information will provide the basis for launching new research projects to accelerate the discovery process.

  How Can I Get Involved?

Sharing of information is a vital part of our program.  However, beyond that, we need to develop models and means to test hypotheses in the laboratory and in large populations.  We need to develop better tools to measure ionic magnesium levels in tissues in real time.  We need software tools to analyze large amounts of data collected in many different forms and formats.  We need  scientists in academic, government and commercial laboratories to isolate and identify new molecules and we need pharmaceutical firms to provide scale up of production of new compounds and to sponsor clinical studies to achieve regulatory approvals for distribution.  As part of this effort we will also need clinicians to participate in studies and report findings.

The general public can become involved by participating in surveys, studies and sharing medical records and other profile information that will allow us to find novel patterns of correlating abnormalities in magnesium regulation (such as under or over-production of magnetonin or its antagonists and agonists) to the occurrence of various diseases. 

We also need financial support to maintain the growing databases, develop computer models, conduct research and to support investigators who will mine these databases for new insights and discovery of regulatory pathways for magnesium. 

Contact the Program Director for further details.

  Global Initiatives

Please check out our global initiatives also. We have pending proposals for solving a major problem among the health-care-challenged areas of the world; namely Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. These diseases which impact mothers and infants have been demonstrated to be treatable with Mg supplements.  The Mg helps to counter hypertension (high blood pressure) without using expensive calcium-blockers/smooth muscle relaxants.

A related concern is low Mg in the diet and water supplies of persons living in rural areas.  An inexpensive means of determining Mg in diet and drinking water as well as in body fluids is urgently needed to determine medical interventions to lower the incidence of disease related to hypomagnesemia.  IPRS is working on the forefront of solving these important problems.

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© 2002 - 2012  IPRS Inc.
Revised: January 07, 2012