Journal article

Associations between particular types of fetal malformation and antiepileptic drug exposure in utero

FJE Vajda, TJ O'Brien, J Graham, CM Lander, MJ Eadie

Acta Neurologica Scandinavica | Published : 2013

Abstract

Objective: To study associations between patterns of fetal malformation and individual antiepileptic drugs taken during pregnancy. Methods: Multiple variable logistic regression and other statistical analyses of data relating to 1733 fetuses from 1703 pregnancies (147 of which were not exposed to antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy). Results: There were statistically significant (P < 0.05) associations between (i) valproate exposure and spina bifida, malformations of the heart and great vessels, digits, skull bones, and brain, but not hypospadias, cleft palate/lip and mouth abnormalities, (ii) topiramate exposure and hypospadias and brain maldevelopments, and (iii) carbamazepine (CBZ) expos..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Funding Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the support of our colleagues, medical and non-medical, both in referring patients and increasing patient awareness of the Register. We thank the Scientific Advisory Board and the Ethical Research Committees of St. Vincent's Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and other institutions for their assessments of the study. The Australian Register is indebted for support to the Epilepsy Society of Australia, The Victorian Epilepsy Foundation, Epilepsy Australia, and Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation and also for generous financial support from the pharmaceutical industry, including Sanofi-Aventis, UCB Pharma, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, and SciGen.