In the not too distant past, women with epilepsy were discouraged from getting pregnant because uncontrolled seizures can harm both the mother and developing baby. In fact, prior to the 1960s, not only were women with epilepsy advised not to get pregnant, many states had laws prohibiting individuals with epilepsy from getting married. The development of anti-seizure medications as well as changes in societal views in the 60s and 70s led to a loosening of these recommendations/laws. These older anti-seizure drugs, such as valproate, unfortunately were found to increase the risk of birth defects. However, the newest generation of anti-seizure drugs are safer to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding according the results of a new study published in JAMA Neurology. Researchers measured verbal abilities at age 2 in nearly 300 children whose mothers took newer medications for epilepsy. Their children had equal language development to those in a control group, along with moderate risks in other areas for children exposed to the highest levels of the medications before birth. The findings indicate that cognitive risks of the newer drugs are smaller than for valproate treatment as a prior study found a loss of 10-12 IQ points in children exposed to valproate in utero. These results suggest that proper administration of newer medications, and monitoring of doses to stop seizure activity, can help increase normal pregnancy outcomes in women with epilepsy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why does acid reflux get worse after treatment?
Chronic acid reflux can be annoying and uncomfortable. Many times, when people are struggling with chronic acid reflux their healthcare prov...
-
Do you ever wonder why when you go out with your friends of Asian descent, some of them get very red just one drink in? Many people call it ...
-
You probably know a thing or two about the gut microbiome and how it affects your health. Did you know that the yogurt you had for ...
-
Atopic eczema has an association with increased risk of new-onset depression and anxiety, but the nature of this association is still unclea...
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there are pregnancy risks associated with epilepsy, so it’s nice to learn about something I didn’t have prior knowledge about. I’m glad to hear that newer medications for epilepsy are safer to use during pregnancy.
After doing more research on this topic I found that even though AEDs take most of the blame for birth defects there are other factors that contribute such as low folate,lack of oxygen and injury associated with seizures. It’s reassuring that newer anti-seizure medications have become safer for pregnant woman to continue using during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
https://www.epilepsy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Hard-copy-Edition-2.pdf