Journal article
The australian brain and cognition and antiepileptic drugs study: Iq in school-aged children exposed to sodium valproate and polytherapy
C Nadebaum, V Anderson, F Vajda, D Reutens, S Barton, A Wood
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society | Published : 2011
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to sodium valproate (VPA) and polytherapy has been linked with increased risk of birth defects and cognitive impairment in young children. We evaluated the cognitive impact of prenatal exposure to VPA and polytherapy in school-aged children. Fifty-seven children exposed to VPA (n = 23), polytherapy with VPA (n = 15), or polytherapy without VPA (n = 19) were assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition. Information on maternal epilepsy, pregnancy, and medical history was obtained prospectively through the Australian Pregnancy Register for Women with Epilepsy and Allied Disorders. All groups had elevated frequencies of Extremely Low (<70) or Bord..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Awarded by NHMRC
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants from the Australian Research Council (LP0669648), Apex Foundation and Pearson Plc. The sponsors of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. Caroline Nadebaum and Sarah Barton were supported by Australian Postgraduate Award scholarships, and Amanda Wood was supported by a NHMRC postdoctoral fellowship grant (251755) and Postdoctoral Research Funding front Australian Rotary Health. The authors also thank Katherine Lee from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute for her statistical advice. The study would not have been possible without the efforts of Janet Graham and Alison Hitchcock from the Australian Pregnancy Register for Women with Epilepsy and Allied Disorders, whose work in identifying and liaising with the participants has been invaluable. The Australian Pregnancy Register is grateful for financial support for its operations from the pharmaceutical industry, including Sanofi-Synthelabo, UCB Pharma, Janssen Cilag, Novartis, and Pfizer, as well as past support from Glaxo. It also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Epilepsy Society of Australia, The Victorian Epilepsy Foundation, and Epilepsy Australia. We also thank all of the families who gave so generously of their time to participate in this research. The information in this manuscript and the manuscript itself has never been published either electronically or in print.