Common Epilepsy Drug May Lower Babies’ IQ

Jacksonville - A common epilepsy drug, valproate (Depakote), should not be taken by pregnant women, researchers say. A new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found that this drug has an intelligence-lowering effect on their babies.

In a landmark study, Kimford J. Meador, M.D. and his colleagues selected pregnant women from the treatment programs at 25 epilepsy centers, those women who had received treatment for epilepsy between 1999 to 2004.

According to WebMD, “the researchers gathered information about the type of epilepsy drug taken, the does, compliance with the medication, the mother’s IQ, her age at delivery, race or ethnicity, type of epilepsy, and lifestyle habits such as the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs during pregnancy.”

The women in the study took one of four common epilepsy medications, including Depakote.

After birth, the babies’ cognitive development was followed for six years.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that, of all of the epilepsy medications taken—valproate (Depakote), lamotrigine (Lamictal), carbamazepine (Tegretol), or phenytoin (Dilantin)—intelligence was lowest in the children whose mother’s had taken Depakote while pregnant. Research showed that these children’s IQ were approximately 8 points below the average IQ rate of 100.

This finding is significant and researchers urge that pregnant women be careful when choosing this drug to control their epileptic seizures, and this is not a small amount of women (or babies.) According to WebMD, there are approximately 25,000 babies born, per year, to epileptic mothers.

But epileptic mother-to-be are not the only ones that should be cautious. Meader, lead author of the study, told WebMD that Depakote is also used to treat migraine headaches and bipolar disorder.

The effects of epilepsy medication on birth defects have long been known, but the cognitive effects of such drugs have not been as widely studied.