Epilepsy Drug, Pregnancy Raise Autism Risk

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Epilepsy Drug, Pregnancy Raise Autism Risk

Study Shows Kids at Risk for Autism When Pregnant Women Take Valproate

By Bill Hendrick

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

http://is.gd/9OHh

Dec. 1, 2008 -- Women who take the epilepsy drug valproate while

pregnant may increase their child's risk of autism, a new study shows.

British researchers looked at 632 children, almost half of whom were

exposed to epilepsy drugs during gestation. Nine of the 632 have been

diagnosed with autism, and one has shown symptoms of the disorder,

Bromley, a PhD student and one of the researchers at the

University of Liverpool, tells WebMD.

Sixty-four of the children were exposed to valproate during pregnancy,

44 were exposed to lamotrigine, 76 to carbamazepine, 14 to other

single-medication therapies, and 51 to polytherapy treatments for the

neurological disorder.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, showed that seven of

the children with autism had mothers who took epilepsy drugs while

pregnant, including four who were exposed to valproate and a fifth who

was exposed to valproate and lamotrigine.