Epilepsy Drug may Cause Birth Defects

Topiramate, sold under the brand name Topamax by Johnson & Johnson, makes up about 20% of prescriptions issued to treat epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder that is most associated with powerful seizures.

A study was done whereby 203 pregnant women were given topiramate and other epileptic drugs.
The results were as follows:

“18 ended in spontaneous abortions, two in stillbirths and five in induced abortions. Of the 178 babies born, 16 had major birth defects. In three of those cases, the mothers had taken only topiramate, and in the other 13, the mothers had taken it in combination with other drugs. Four of the babies had cleft palates or lips. Four male babies had genital birth defects”

Many experts were not surprised about these findings since it was known that topiramate had caused similar defects in animals. However, experts caution people that this study was performed on a very low number of women so it cannot be fully determined whether or not topiramate is so detrimental to a growing fetus. Dr. Kimford J. Meador of the University of Florida in Gainesville was not part of the study and commented that “You can’t make any definitive statements from the data.”

Even if there is this risk to the fetus, it is essential that a pregnant woman continue to take the drug while pregnant if they are taking it to treat seizures. This is because seizures may actually cause more adverse affects to the fetus than the topiramate.

If you or your baby has suffered any medical injuries after using Topiramate or Topamax, contact our office immediately.