|
|
Article: Valproic acid.(DRUGS, PREGNANCY, AND LACTATION)
- Article from:
- Internal Medicine News
- Article date:
- May 15, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
For more than 20 years, the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) associated with first-trimester exposure to valproic acid has been well known: The estimated risk is 2%, about 10- to 20-fold higher than the baseline risk. With more widespread use of valproic acid, partly due to increasing use of the drug for psychiatric conditions, more data and larger controlled studies on its teratogenic effects have accumulated over the past 3-4 years, revealing an association with major malformations that previously had been reported anecdotally. The main anomalies that have been identified are cardiac and limb malformations.
The results of these studies reflect what we found in ...