Use Of Medicines For Epilepsy During Pregnancy Can Cause A Risk To The Child

Use Of Medicines For Epilepsy During Pregnancy Can Cause A Risk To The Child.
Pregnant women with epilepsy who are taking carbamazepine (Tegretol) to put down seizures may be at a measure increased jeopardy of having an infant with spina bifida, a unique sanctum finds. Spina bifida is a mould in which the bones of the backbone do not oppressive but the spinal line remains in place, usually with skin covering the defect olaplex. Most children will essential lifelong therapy for problems arising from damage to the spinal rope and spinal nerves.

And "For women with epilepsy, impounding control during pregnancy is very important," said advanced position researcher Lolkje de Jong-van den Berg, from the apportionment of Rather formal at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. "Our investigate can help in decisions regarding whether carbamazepine should be the cure-all of choice in pregnancy" antehealth. However, the best option concerning treatment can be chosen only on an individual basis by the partner and her neurologist before pregnancy, weighing the benefits of epilepsy switch against the risk of birth defects, de Jong-van den Berg said.

The write-up is published in the Dec 3, 2010 online print run of the BMJ. For the study, de Jong-van den Berg's body reviewed existing investigating to ascertain the risk of ancestry defects among women taking Tegretol tetracycline. The researchers found that infants of women taking Tegretol were 2,6 times more conceivable to have spina bifida, compared with women not taking any anti-epileptic medication.

However, the imperil associated with Tegretol was less than with another anti-epileptic drug- valproic acid (Depakene). In fact, Tegretol was less dicey than valproic acid when it came to other origination defects such as hypospadias, where a boy's urinary cleft develops in the badly separate of the penis or in the scrotum. "Carbamazepine is specifically consanguineous to an increased chance of spina bifida," de Jong-van den Berg said. "But you have to save in sapience that the absolute gamble is small".