Neurologists agree that pregnancy can alter the course or manifestations of chronic neurological diseases, such as epilepsy.
They also warned about the effect of certain medications to treat neurological diseases during pregnancy.
Now a new study conducted in the United States and Britain states that Valproate, a drug to treat epilepsy, can affect the development of the brain of the fetus during pregnancy.
As they have found, children whose mothers took valproate during pregnancy have an average IQ between 6 and 9 points less than those of children whose mothers were treated with other medications for epilepsy.
AdvertisingStudy researchers recommend pregnant women avoid this medication against epilepsy. Apparently, valproate is widely used in the treatment of epilepsy because it is the only one capable of controlling the seizures of some patients. That is why they suggest epileptic women to try other treatments before becoming pregnant.
Valproate would also be indicated to treat migraines and manic-depressive problems.
