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Misoprostol is a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analogue that is used to treat upper gastrointestinal ulceration. In Brazil, it is available over the counter as a gastric antisecretory agent and used off-label as an abortifacient. However, misoprostol fails to induce abortion in about 80% of the women who take it, and these pregnancies continue to term. These Brazilian researchers sought to determine whether Mobius' syndrome (congenital facial paralysis) occurred more frequently in the infants of misoprostol users.
Investigators compared the frequency of misoprostol use during the first trimester by mothers of infants with Mobius' syndrome with use by mothers of infants with neural tube defects. Among the mothers of 96 infants with Mobius' syndr…