Pregnant women taking epilepsy drugs more likely to deliver babies with birth defects

Drugs prescribed to control epilepsy in pregnant women with migraine, pain and bipolar disorder are likely to deliver babies with birth defects, according to a new study.

The study lays focus on the drugs-- valproic acid and topiramate. The birth defects include spina bifida and cleft lip.
 

For the study, researchers used data to identify pregnancies that resulted in live births between January 2011 and March 2015.

From the 1,886,825 pregnancies reported during those years, the researchers looked for the mothers' use of 10 anti-epileptic-seizure drugs before and after conception.

Researchers further looked for 23 birth defects in the children delivered by these women. The findings indicated that 8,794 women were prescribed a single anti-epileptic drug.

Women who were prescribed with valproic acid (10.4 pc of the group of pregnant women prescribed anti-epileptic medication) had 19 times greater risk of having a baby with spina bifida as compared with women who did not take an epilepsy drug.

Among the 913 women prescribed valproic acid, six babies (0.66 pc) had spina bifida, as compared with 616 babies (0.03 pc) born to women not taking an epilepsy drug.

The drug also increased the risk of seven other birth defects, including cleft palate and four types of heart defects.

On the other hand, women prescribed topiramate (5.9 pc) had a seven times greater risk of having a baby with cleft lip (with or without cleft palate), the study has indicated.

Among the 517 women prescribed topiramate, three babies (0.60 pc) had cleft lip, compared with 1,637 babies (0.09 pc) born to women not taking an epilepsy drug.

"The new study confirms other large-scale studies where similar findings were found. It reinforces the risks associated with these particular two medications,"said a Dr.

"I also know that there are some women with difficult-to-control-epilepsy that valproic acid may be the only medication that might be effective for them. All these different medicines have different ways of working in the brain, and they're not necessarily completely interchangeable," said the Dr.

"Most notable, valproic acid use during pregnancy has been associated with a higher risk for lower IQ, autism and autism spectrum disorder, and the need for special education in the children who were exposed during pregnancy. Topiramate has also been associated with increased risk for low birth weight," said the Dr.

"A planned pregnancy allows the health care provider and the woman to decide on the best plan for her individually ... to lower fetal risk while keeping her seizures under optimal control," concluded the Dr.

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Chronic kidney disease may lower IQ in kids

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) may hamper academic skills, executive function and memory, a study has found. 

CKD in children clearly affects their physical health, but research also indicates that it can have impacts on neurocognitive function.
"This research provides relevant information on the areas of need - for example, working memory and mathematics - for which children with CKD may need guidance, practice and assistance, particularly for children on dialysis," said a researcher.

"It also suggests hypotheses for why the overall intellectual and educational outcomes of children with CKD are reduced compared with the general population, and how best to prevent deficits," the researcher said. 


For the study, the researchers examined all of the published evidence on cognitive and academic outcomes in children and adolescents with CKD.

Their analysis included 34 studies with more than 3,000 CKD patients under the age of 21 years.

Children with CKD also had lower scores than the general population in executive function and memory domains, and they scored lower in tests of academic skills related to mathematics, reading, and spelling.

The global cognition IQ of children with CKD was classified as low-average. 

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Going vegan may lowerr IQ

According to a new study, ditching dairy could see a drop fo 13 IQ points because of a lack of iodine in the body.

Experts fear that with a growing number of youngsters choosing to turn vegan, there could be serious health consequences for future generations.

Studies have shown a startling difference in the IQ of communities who have adequate amounts of iodine in their diet compared to those who don't.
 
And if they don't have enough during pregnancy, it could put babies at serious risk.

A dietician said that a lot of people are opting for a more plant-based diets.

Many of them think they're lactose intolerant or that they chose to remove dairy because of environmental or medical reasons.

"Unfortunately the dairy alternative products out there aren't fortified with calcium. One of the best sources of iodine in our diet are dairy products. Other things like fish, eggs and even poultry does provide smaller amounts,” she says, adding that without iodine in the diet it can cause real tiredness in teenagers because it's needed for the correct functioning of the thyroid.
 
Moreover, she added that babies born to mothers who have really low intakes of iodine during pregnancy can suffer from mental retardation.
 
According to researchers who looked at the iodine content of 47 health milks - including soya, coconut, almond rice and oat milk - the levels of iodine were two per cent lower of those in cow's milk, it was reported.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.    

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