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THURSDAY, March 21, 2024 (HealthDay Information) — A typical antiseizure drug used to deal with epilepsy, migraines and bipolar dysfunction doesn’t seem to extend the danger of autism for teenagers uncovered to it within the womb, a brand new examine says.
Topiramate doesn’t contribute to any threat of children growing autism if their mothers took it throughout being pregnant, researchers report within the New England Journal of Medication.
“Our findings present wanted readability on the attainable neurodevelopmental impacts of this generally used drug,” lead researcher Dr. Sonia Hernández-Díaz, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan College of Public Well being, stated in a information launch.
“Whereas our major analyses centered on moms with epilepsy, the examine has implications for mothers and moms-to-be who dwell with different circumstances handled by topiramate as nicely,” she added.
Topiramate can deal with epilepsy and migraine by calming overactive nerves in an individual’s physique, consultants say.
One other antiseizure drug, lamotrigine, is also secure for expectant moms to take, researchers discovered.
Nevertheless, a 3rd drug, valproate, does seem to extend threat of autism in children, outcomes present. The outcomes for lamotrigine and valproate are per earlier research.
Practically 11% of children uncovered to valproate within the womb developed autism, and the danger elevated as mothers took bigger doses of the drug, researchers report.
Researchers additionally famous that whereas topiramate seems secure for a child’s growing brains, it stays linked to an elevated threat of cleft palate in newborns.
For the examine, researchers analyzed knowledge on almost 4.3 million pregnant ladies and their kids collected between 2000 and 2020 throughout two main U.S. well being care databases.
Youngsters uncovered to topiramate throughout the second half of being pregnant have been in contrast with children who’d by no means been uncovered to any antiseizure medicine within the womb. Children uncovered to lamotrigine and valproate served as management teams.
Total, by age 8 kids born to moms with epilepsy have a doubled charge of autism in comparison with the final inhabitants, so seizure management stays necessary.
About 2% of all children not uncovered to antiseizure drugs developed autism. That in contrast with 4% of kids with a mother who had epilepsy however didn’t take these medicine throughout being pregnant.
About 6% of children uncovered to topiramate and 4% of children uncovered to lamotrigine developed autism. Nevertheless, any further threat from the medicine disappeared after researchers accounted for different variables.
The findings have been printed March 21.
Extra info
The Autism Analysis Institute has extra details about autism and epilepsy.
SOURCE: Harvard T.H. Chan College of Public Well being, information launch, March 20, 2024
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