Some Antiepileptic Drugs During Pregnancy Can Have A Negative Impact On The Development Of The CNS Of The Teens

Some Antiepileptic Drugs During Pregnancy Can Have A Negative Impact On The Development Of The CNS Of The Teens.
Teens born to women who took two or more epilepsy drugs while abounding fared worse in ready than peers with no prenatal location to those medications, a huge Swedish study has found. Also, teens born to epileptic mothers in regular tended to score lower in several subjects, including math and English. The findings confirm earlier research that linked prenatal disclosing to epilepsy drugs, particularly valproic acid (brand names include Depakene and Depakote), to adversative effects on a child's ability to process information, solve problems and make decisions.

And "Our results suggest that contact to several anti-epileptic drugs in utero may have a negative effect on a child's neurodevelopment," said analyse author Dr Lisa Forsberg of Karolinska University Hospital. The memorize was published online Nov 4, 2010 in Epilepsia.

The study was retrospective, sense that it looked backwards in time. Using national medical records and a study conducted by a specific hospital, Forsberg and her team identified women with epilepsy who gave birth between 1973 and 1986, as well as those who worn anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy. The team then obtained records of children's school conduct from a registry that provides grades for all students leaving school at 16, the age that mandatory drilling ends in Sweden.

The researchers identified 1,235 children born to epileptic mothers. Of those, 641 children were exposed to one anti-epileptic treat and 429 to two or more; 165 children had no known divulging to the medications. The researchers then compared those children's school completion to that of all other children born in Sweden (more than 1,3 million) during that 13-year period.

The teens exposed to more than one anti-epileptic deaden in the womb were less likely to get a final grade than those in the general population, said Forsberg. Not receiving a end grade generally means not attending general school because of mental deficits.

While teens exposed to only one anti-seizure medication did not show the same risk, they were less meet to pass with excellence. This may be the development of the influence of the anti-epileptic drug during fetal life, but it may also be the effect of factors related to epilepsy, such as genetic factors, group factors and the effect of the mother's seizures, said Forsberg. "Therefore, these information should be interpreted with caution".

Anti-epileptic medications besides valproic acid include phenytoin (such as Dilantin and Phenytek) and carbamazepine (such as Tegretol and Carbatrol). The writing-room noted that compared to other anti-epileptic drugs, valproic acid during pregnancy seems to have a stronger nullifying influence on cognitive skills. However, Forsberg said that this learn could not draw specific conclusions about valproic acid, since very few of the children wilful were exposed to it.

There's also evidence that taking multiple anti-epileptic drugs can cause more harm than taking just one. That's why the American Academy of Neurology recommends taking just one during pregnancy, if possible, and worrying medications other than valproic acid.

Dr Jacqueline A French, professor of neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center and overseer of the Clinical Trials Consortium at the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, said that the retrospective stripe of the about made it difficult to control for unknowns that could have affected its findings. For example, the ponder could not factor in how often the mothers had seizures during their pregnancies or during critical early years of the child's life.

So "I mark that could have an impact on the child's development. We can't exclude the possibility that a woman on anti-epileptic drugs whose seizures are well controlled has just as much distinct possibility of having a child that excels as a woman who is not on the drugs".

Forsberg agreed, noting that most children exposed to anti-epileptic drugs do flawless school, and that most children of epileptic mothers are born and be left healthy. However, the study findings support current recommendations that rich women take just one anti-epileptic drug if possible, noted Forsberg. She also recommended that women with epilepsy representation their pregnancies bilquis. "That way, they and their doctors can come up with individual treatment plans that modify the pregnancy safe for both mother and child".