New Study Warns of Depakote Birth Defects from Valproic Acid

Atlanta, GAA recent study on the effects of valproic acid (Depakote) found a slightly increased risk of birth defects when used by pregnant women in the first trimester. Researchers are urging women to use alternative drugs to control epileptic seizures while pregnant, according to the 6/9/10 issue of Consumer Health News.

"These findings provide further evidence to avoid valproic acid, if possible, in pregnant women and [for doctors] to discuss with girls and women of childbearing potential the risk of the drug for the unborn child," said senior study author Lolkje T.W. de Jong-van den Berg of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

The American Academy of Neurology, according to the study, also recommends that pregnant women avoid valproic acid. However, Depakote continues is the second-most popular drug for treating the effects of epilepsy, according to the researchers. They noted that since up to half of all pregnancies are unplanned, every woman of childbearing age should be counseled as to the risks and ramifications of valproic acid.

Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Emory University in Atlanta, echoed that warning. "This drug should not be used as a first-line drug for epilepsy in women of childbearing age," Meador said. "There are multiple types of malformations that can be associated with valproic acid."

It should be noted that Depakote is also commonly prescribed to treat migraine headaches and bipolar disorder.

According to the study, published on 6/10/10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, babies whose mothers took valproic acid during the first trimester were 12.7 times more likely to have spina bifida compared with babies whose mothers did not take the drug.

Babies whose mothers took valproic acid were also 2.5 times more likely to have a heart defect; about five times as likely to have a cleft palate or hypospadias (a penis abnormality); more than twice as likely to be born with an extra digit on the hand; and nearly seven times more likely to have craniosynostosis, which is premature fusion of the skull during fetal development that restricts the skull and brain growth.

The researchers noted that while valproic acid carries a higher relative risk of Depakote birth defects, absolute risk remains small: risk for spina bifida, for example was 0.6 percent—or six in 1,000 babies whose mothers took valproic acid. In contrast, 0.5 percent or five in 1,000 babies were born with spinal bifida from mothers who did not take the epilepsy medication.

Even so, say the researchers, evidence is mounting.