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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 To assess what effects these medications might have on babies, the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD) study was begun. The study includes 309 children from 25 epilepsy centers in the United Kingdom and the United States. All of the children's mothers were taking one of four epilepsy medications during pregnancy, including valproate, carbamazapine, lamotrigine and phenytoin.
The researchers plan to assess the children periodically until they're 6 years old. The current report focuses on outcomes when the children were 3 years old.
After compensating for other factors that might influence a child's intelligence -- such as maternal IQ, maternal age, the dose of anti-epileptic medication, gestational age at birth and the mother's intake of folic acid -- the researchers found that children exposed to valproate during pregnancy had significantly lower IQ scores than the children exposed to the other medications.
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The average IQ for children exposed in the womb to lamotrigine was 101, for phenytoin it was 99, and for carbamazepine it was 98. Children exposed to valproate in the womb scored an average of 92 on the IQ test, according to the study.
The researchers also found that the drug's effect on IQ was "dose-dependent," meaning that the higher the dose of medication, the more effect on the child's intelligence.
Meador said the researchers suspect that the medication may cause a loss of brain cells in the baby, like fetal alcohol syndrome does.
"The take-away message from this study is that the danger of neurocognitive impairment is real with the use of valproic acid (valproate)," said Dr. Inna Vaisleib, a pediatric neurologist and epileptologist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
"Not using valproic acid in women of childbearing age is a good idea, as approximately half of all pregnancies are unplanned," she said, adding that "epilepsy is common, and about one in 200 pregnant women are receiving anti-epileptic drugs."
Vaisleib cautioned strongly against stopping any medications without first consulting a neurologist, because seizures can also be damaging to a growing fetus, as well as to the expectant mother.
More information
To learn more about epilepsy and pregnancy, visit the Epilepsy Foundation.
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