Saturday, September 23, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Biology

Does dosing of drug for mom make a difference for baby’s risk of cleft lip, palate?

December 27, 2017
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

MINNEAPOLIS – Taking a higher dose of topiramate during the first three months of pregnancy may increase a baby's risk of cleft lip or cleft palate more than when taking a lower dose, according to a study published in the December 27, 2017, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Topiramate is prescribed to prevent seizures in people with epilepsy. It is also used to prevent migraine headaches or treat bipolar disorder. In combination with phentermine, it may be prescribed for weight loss.

"While topiramate is not recommended for pregnant women, unplanned pregnancies are common, so it's important to fully examine any possible risk," said Sonia Hernandez-Diaz, MD, DrPH, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. "Our study found that when pregnant women took topiramate during the first trimester, baby's risk of cleft lip or palate was three times greater than if mom was not taking the drug. The risk was higher when the mother took high doses of the drug than when she took lower doses."

For the study, researchers looked at Medicaid data and identified nearly 1.4 million women who gave birth to live babies over a 10-year period. Women who filled a prescription for topiramate during their first three months of pregnancy were compared with women who did not fill a prescription for any anti-seizure drug. They were also compared to women who filled a prescription for lamotrigine, another drug used to reduce seizures in epilepsy. There were 2,425 pregnancies in the topiramate group, 2,796 in the lamotrigine group, and more than 1.3 million in the group not taking anti-seizure drugs. Researchers then looked at how many women in each group gave birth to a baby diagnosed with cleft lip or cleft palate.

Researchers found that among the more than 1.3 million pregnancies in the group not taking anti-seizure drugs, 1,501 babies had cleft lip or cleft palate which translates to a risk of 1.1 per 1,000. For the 2,425 babies born to mothers who filled a prescription for topiramate during the first trimester of pregnancy, the risk of cleft lip or cleft palate was 4.1 per 1,000. The risk was 1.5 per 1,000 in the babies born to the 2,796 women taking lamotrigine.

Compared to the group not taking anti-seizure medications, women with epilepsy on topiramate had an eight times greater risk of giving birth to a baby with cleft lip or cleft palate, while the women taking the drug for other conditions had a 50 percent higher risk. Women with epilepsy took a higher dose of the drug than those with other conditions. The average daily dose for women with epilepsy was 200 milligrams, while the average for women without epilepsy was 100 milligrams. Additionally, the risk of cleft lip or cleft palate for those taking more than 100 milligrams for any reason was five times greater than those not taking anti-seizure drugs, while those taking less than 100 milligrams had a 60 percent greater risk than those not taking anti-seizure drugs. Results were similar when women taking topiramate were compared with those taking lamotrigine.

"Our results suggest that women with epilepsy on topiramate have the highest relative risk of giving birth to a baby with cleft lip or cleft palate, likely due to the higher doses of topiramate when used for controlling seizures," said Hernandez-Diaz. "The best course may be to avoid prescribing high doses of topiramate to women of childbearing age unless the benefits clearly outweigh the risks."

A limitation of the study is that topiramate doses were not randomly assigned to patients and therefore women on high doses may be different from those on low doses for reasons incompletely measured by the investigators, such as severity of epilepsy.

###

The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.

To learn more about epilepsy, visit http://www.aan.com/patients.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 34,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137
Michelle Uher, muher@aan.com, (612) 928-6120

Media Contact

Renee Tessman
rtessman@aan.com
612-928-6137
@GreenJournal

http://www.aan.com/go/pressroom

Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

    1038 shares
    Share 415 Tweet 260
  • New findings on hair loss in men

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • Tirzepatide more effective in blood sugar control and body weight loss than semaglutide, shows meta-analysis of 22 studies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Astronomers discover newborn galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Chromosome-scale genome sequence of Suaeda glauca sheds light on salt stress tolerance in halophytes

    63 shares
    Share 25 Tweet 16
  • ISSCR Kicks off São Paulo International Symposium today in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

Corning® launches Videodrop, revolutionizing real-time nanoparticle detection and analysis

Grant awarded to University of Louisville law professor will fund climate adaptation project

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 208 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In