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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Doctors Remove Unborn Baby Girl From Mother's Womb For Surgery & Then Put It Back In

A mom-to-be underwent a surgery in which surgeons removed her unborn baby from her womb and then put it back inside. In December 2018, 26-year-old mother from UK was 4 and a half months when she was told that her baby had ‘Spina Bifida’.

She in a Facebook post said, ‘We had to do it. We also had to meet some seriously strict criteria. Me and baby went through amniocentesis and MRI and relentless scans. We got approved on the 17th December we planned for surgery. Our lives were such a roller-coaster for the next few weeks.’

On January 8, the mother and her unborn daughter underwent the surgery and she became the fourth woman in the country to undergo this surgery. Obviously, the surgery comes with a lot of risks but fortunately for the mother and daughter duo, the operation was successful.

After the surgery, she said in her post, 'We were a success. Her lesion was small, and she smashed surgery like you wouldn't believe. I'm fragile and sore but as long as she is doing fine that's all we care about'.

'Her brain is looking good and her ventricles are normal which luckily hers always have been. They took her out of my womb and popped her straight back in to stay there as long as she can'. 

'I feel our baby kick me day in and day out. That's never changed. She's extra special. She's part of history and our daughter has shown just how much she deserves this life,' she added.

 Spina bifida is a condition in which the spinal canal does not close completely in the womb, leaving the spinal cord exposed from an early stage in pregnancy.

To raise awareness about the disease, she is now raising money for SHINE (Spina bifida Hydrocephalus Information Networking and Equality) charity.

  

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/       

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Mussel-inspired glue may make foetal surgery safer

Scientists have developed a strong glue based on a mussel adhesive which could make performing surgery on fetuses safer in the future. 

Whether to perform surgery on a foetus is a heart- wrenching decision. It involves penetrating the highly delicate amniotic sac, increasing health risks to the foetus. 

Now, researchers have created a glue, inspired by the tenacious grip of mussels on slippery rocks, that could one day help save the lives of the youngest patients. 

"One of the biggest risks in performing surgery on fetuses is not the surgical procedure itself, but the insertion of a foetal scope through the amniotic sac, which is very fragile," said, a researcher.

"After the surgery, the small hole where the scope penetrates the membrane can start to tear. If it tears completely, premature labour is likely," said the researcher.

Since these operations are often done in the second trimester well before the foetus is fully developed, early delivery increases the risk of foetal morbidity. 

An adhesive that can prevent the amniotic sac from tearing could help the foetus remain in the womb longer, which would potentially lead to a healthier future for the baby, researchers said. 

A well-known example of a severe birth defect that would make a foetus a candidate for surgery is spina bifida, a condition in which the neural tube - the part that becomes the baby's brain and spinal cord - does not develop or close properly. 

To fix such problems a few decades ago, surgeons had to cut open a woman's abdomen and womb.
Now, doctors can use skinny endoscopic tools to perform operations through a small hole. Still, to reach the foetus, the instruments must penetrate the amniotic sac, which cannot heal or easily be sewn shut because it is so fragile. 

Sealing it with an adhesive is a challenge because the membrane is wet. Delivering a surgical glue post-operation is a major hurdle. 

Mussels produce sticky substances that allow them to cling to rocks and ship hulls in wet environments, even under pounding waves. 

Developing mimics of these substances for surgical use involves turning them into hydrogels. However, this conversion so far has required chemical cross-linkers that could be toxic to fetuses. 

The scientist wanted to eliminate the cross-linkers. He infused an adhesive ingredient from the mussel foot called dihydroxyphenylalanine, or DOPA, into a special polymer that can dissolve in a bio-compatible solvent. 

The solution can then be drawn into a syringe. To test their material, the researchers used pieces of a membrane that surrounds a cow's heart as a model of the amniotic sac. 

They applied the solution with the syringe to overlapping pieces of the wet, filmy tissues. On contact with moisture on the tissues, the mixture immediately became rubbery. After about an hour, the glue set and held the pieces together. 

However, even with the right polymer and solvent, the researchers still needed to figure out how the solution might work in a real surgery. 

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Stem cells may help cure bladder issues

Scientists have now managed to produce tissue from human stem cells that could be transplanted into patients with defective or diseased bladder, says a study.

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

The breakthrough was developed at the University of California's (UC) Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures and published in the scientific journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

It is significant because it provides a pathway to regenerate replacement bladder tissue for patients whose bladders are too small or do not function properly, such as children with spina bifida and adults with spinal cord injuries or bladder cancer, reported Science Daily.

"Our goal is to use human stem cells to regenerate tissue in the lab that can be transplanted into patients to augment or replace their malfunctioning bladders," said Eric Kurzrock, professor and head of the division of paediatric urologic surgery at UC Davis Children's Hospital and lead scientist of the study.

Another benefit of the UC Davis study is the insight it may provide about the pathways of bladder cancer, which is diagnosed in more than 70,000 Americans each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

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