Antiepileptic therapy and teratogenicity in Turkey

In this study 170 children born to 116 epileptic mothers are evaluated for the presence of congenital malformations. In one group, the mothers of 104 children were administered with one or more antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during their pregnancies. In the control group, the mothers of 66 children received no therapy throughout or during the first trimester of their pregnancies. Twelve of the 104 children who were exposed to antiepileptic drugs in utero, had various major congenital malformations. On the other hand, 66 children who were not exposed to AEDs in utero had no malformations. The incidence of congenital malformations in children born to epileptic mothers was found to be significantly higher compared to the incidence observed in other studies (0.48-2%) among the general population of Turkey.