Asian Scientist (Aug. 26, 2013) – Pregnant women with epilepsy are commonly treated with the epilepsy drug valproate. Now, researchers in Australia have discovered that high doses of valproate is linked to an increased risk of having a baby with spina bifida or hypospadias.
Spina bifida is a birth defect of the spine and spinal cord, which occurs in utero in the first three months of pregnancy and cannot be cured. Hypospadias is a birth defect of the penis but can be treated with surgery.
The discovery, published in Neurology, may help pregnant women with epilepsy reduce their chance of having a baby with physical birth defects.
According to the researchers, there was increasing concern among clinicians, patients and their families about the risk to the developing fetus of mothers taking valproate.
“For many women on epilepsy medication, the desire to start a family can be fraught with fear that they could have a baby with a range of disabilities or malformations,” said Professor Terry O’Brien, a co-author of the study.
“Previous studies have shown a strong relationship between the dose of valproate taken and the risk of the child having a birth defect. However, for many women valproate is the only drug that will help control their seizures.”
“Through our research, we now know that by reducing the dose taken in the first trimester of pregnancy, the risk of having a baby with spina bifida or hypospadias will be greatly reduced.”
Professor O’Brien added other birth defects such as cleft palates and heart defects were still common regardless of the drug dosage given to pregnant women.
The article can be found at: Vajda et al. (2013) Dose Dependence Of Fetal Malformations Associated With Valproate.
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Source: University of Melbourne; Photo: RightIndex/Flickr/CC.
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