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Children Exposed to Epilepsy Drug in the Womb Show Poorer School Test Results

by Anjali Aryamvally on March 28, 2018 at 4:59 PM
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Highlights:

Exposure to epilepsy drugs in the womb is linked to poorer performance in school tests among 7-year-olds, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Epilepsy and Pregnancy

Women with epilepsy are currently advised to continue taking epilepsy drugs even during pregnancy. Taking the seizure controlling drugs can prevent convulsions that can harm both mother and the unborn child.


However, there have been studies that have linked taking epilepsy drugs during pregnancy to neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

Study Overview

The study was aimed to assess the risk to children who had an exposure to anti-epileptic drugs in the womb based on real life circumstances.

‘Mothers-to-be need to be fully informed of the risks and effects of seizure treatment, which should be weighed against the need for effective seizure control during pregnancy.’

Healthcare information was collected from the Secure Anonymous Information Linkage (SAIL) databank and national school test (key stage 1) data to compare the academic performance of 7-year-olds in Wales born to mothers with epilepsy.

Based on the prescription patterns of the mother, the data was divided into five groups: treatment with one drug either carbamazepine, lamotrigine or sodium valproate, a combination of several drugs and no drug treatment (control group).

Study findings

The study suggests that going-to-be mothers need to be fully informed of the risks of epilepsy treatment, but these should be weighed against the need for effective seizure control during pregnancy.

However, it is also important to understand that while studies do point toward the risk of cognitive effects in the children of mothers prescribed sodium valproate and multiple drugs, some epilepsies are difficult to treat without these treatment regimens.

Limitations of the study

Reference:

  1. Lacey A S, Pickrell W O, Thomas R H, Kerr M P, White C P, Rees M I, "Epilepsy drug exposure in womb linked to significantly poorer school test results", Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (2018) DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2017-317515

Source: Medindia

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