Subscription Center
Apr 17, 2009 10:10 AM
Children born to women who took the epilepsy drug Depakote while pregnant had lower IQ scores than those whose moms took three other antiseizure meds, research published this week shows. The results suggest that women of childbearing age should only use Depakote as a last resort, the American and British study authors say.
The average IQ among three-year-olds whose mothers took Depakote (chemical name valproate) was 92, compared with 101 for children exposed in utero to lamotrigine, 99 among kids whose moms took phenytoin and 98 for children whose mother took carbamazepine, according to the study in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. The results are based on 309 children being followed at 25 epilepsy centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Kids' IQs were closely related to their moms' intelligence except among children exposed to Depakote, "a result suggesting that valproate disrupted this normally robust relationship," according to the study.
Prescribing information for Depakote warns that it can cause birth defects including spina bifida (incomplete closure of the spine in utero that can cause paralysis and learning disabilities) and malformations of the heart and skull. It says the drug should only be used in women of childbearing age if the benefits outweigh the risks to a developing fetus. "For many women, Depakote may be the only effective medicine to control their seizures, but it is important that physicians and patients have a candid conversation about the risks of treatment versus the benefits of treatment," manufacturer Abbott told WebMD.
More than half of prescriptions for antiseizure meds are written for patients with disorders other than epilepsy, the study notes, such as migraine and bipolar illness.
Two registries of pregnant women who are taking antiseizure drugs—the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry and the International Registry of Antiepileptic Drugs and Pregnancy—are collecting information about why the meds cause the effects they do and which ones may be safer during pregnancy.
Image © iStockphoto/Olivier Lantzendörffer
Tags:
headache,
spina bifida,
bipolar,
epilepsy,
migraine
More News Blog:
Next: Ignorance not bliss when it comes to using the Internet, experts say
Previous: Got a sexy science project? Call Hugh Hefner for funding
See what we're tweeting about
Myrmecos 11 Astounding Arthropods You’ll See at BugShot/Belize. Plus, a Zombie Fungus. http://t.co/sjLUVr8eA0
docfreeride Has shifting an online course from one platform to another ever NOT been a colossal pain in the ass? Not for me. Grrr.
sciammind #SciAmBlogs Thursday - science diagrams, mental illness art, beavers are fish, amphibian decline, cicadas, and more. http://t.co/FmFu7XjfeB
Deadline: Jul 25 2013
Reward: Varies
This challenge provides an opportunity for Solvers to build a web-based or mobile “app” to explore data relationships in scholarly conte
Deadline: Jun 29 2013
Reward: $7,000 USD
The Seeker for this Challenge desires proposals for chemical methods that could rapidly degrade a dilute aqueous solution
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Comments
Add Comment