http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=208

"Older Epilepsy Drugs Have Birth Defect Risk -Study", Reuters UK,
September 7, 2004,
Link: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6165524&secti
on=news

Pregnant women suffering from epilepsy need to better informed about
the risks of birth defects from treatments used to control their
seizures, researchers said on Tuesday.

The risk of serious birth defects such as a small head or stunted
growth from anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) is about 2 to 3 percent but a
study of pregnancy registers showed it can be much higher with an
older treatment.

"These preliminary but very informative results clearly show that not
all AEDs are equally safe for the exposed children of pregnant women
of childbearing potential," said Diego Wyszynski, of Boston University
Schools of Medicine and Public Health.

In a study of pregnancy registers of 2,637 women in Britain he found
that women taking lamotrigine, which is sold by pharmaceutical giant
GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name Lamictal and Novartis AG's
Tegretol, or carbamazepine, the risk of serious birth defects of was
2.1 and 2.3 percent.

But it increased to 5.9 percent in women taking the generic drug
valproic acid.

A North American pregnancy register of 3,400 women showed a 7.3
percent risk of birth defects with the generic drug and 2.8 percent
with the other treatments.

"Whenever possible, physicians who treat girls and young women with
this condition should consider offering only those drugs that pose the
smallest risk of birth defects," Wyszynski, who presented his finding
at a medical meeting in Paris, added in a statement.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects about 25 million
women worldwide. It makes people vulnerable to seizures and is caused
by excessive local stimulation of the brain. It can strike at any age.

"These data are extremely important because they can help doctors make
more informed treatment decisions. However more data are needed,"
Wyszynski added.