ReviewDrug safety2015
Neurodevelopmental effects of fetal antiepileptic drug exposure.
Review in Drug safety, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Management of adverse effects of mood stabilizers.Current psychiatry reports · 2015Pooled it
- Prenatal Azithromycin Exposure and Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- A review of neuroprotective properties ofAnnals of medicine · 2025Review
- Design and Development of Sulfonamide-Chalcones as Antiepileptic Candidates: Computational and Zebrafish-Based Validation Approaches.ACS omega · 2025Article
- The evolution of antiseizure medication therapy selection in adults: Is artificial intelligence -assisted antiseizure medication selection ready for prime time?Journal of central nervous system disease · 2023Review
- Integrative genomics reveals pathogenic mediator of valproate-induced neurodevelopmental disability.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2022Article
- Epilepsy Characteristics in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Research from Patient Cohorts and Animal Models Focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Psychiatric comorbidities, sexual health and neurodevelopmental outcomes of offspring in men with epilepsy.Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · 2021Article
- Association of Prenatal Exposure to Valproate and Other Antiepileptic Drugs With Intellectual Disability and Delayed Childhood Milestones.JAMA network open · 2020Article
- On the Digital Psychopharmacology of Valproic Acid in Mice.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Article
- Treatment of early life status epilepticus: What can we learn from animal models?Epilepsia open · 2018Article
- Emilia-Romagna Study on Pregnancy and Exposure to Antiepileptic drugs (ESPEA): a population-based study on prescription patterns, pregnancy outcomes and fetal health.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2018Observational
- Verbal abilities in children of mothers with epilepsy: Association to maternal folate status.Neurology · 2018Article
- Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs.Neurochemical research · 2017Review
- Prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs and use of primary healthcare during childhood: a population-based cohort study in Denmark.BMJ open · 2017Article
- Turing Revisited: Decoding the microRNA Messages in Brain Extracellular Vesicles for Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Current environmental health reports · 2016Review
- High-dose versus low-dose valproate for the treatment of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: Going from low to high.Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · 2016Article
- Cognitive abilities and behaviour of children exposed to antiepileptic drugs in utero.Current opinion in neurology · 2009Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Many studies investigating cognitive outcomes in children of women with epilepsy report an increased risk of mental impairment. Verbal scores on neuropsychometric measures may be selectively more involved. While a variety of factors contribute to the cognitive problems of children of women with epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) appear to play a major role. The mechanisms by which AEDs affect neurodevelopmental outcomes remain poorly defined. Animal models suggest that AED-induced apoptosis, altered neurotransmitter environment, and impaired synaptogenesis are some of the mechanisms responsible for cognitive and behavioral teratogenesis. AEDs that are known to induce apoptosis, such as valproate, appear to affect children's neurodevelopment in a more severe fashion. Fetal valproate exposure has dose-dependent associations with reduced cognitive abilities across a range of domains, and these appear to persist at least until the age of 6. Some studies have shown neurodevelopmental deficiencies associated with the use of phenobarbital and possibly phenytoin. So far, most of the investigations available suggest that fetal exposures to lamotrigine or levetiracetam are safer with regard to cognition when compared with other AEDs. Studies on carbamazepine show contradictory results, but most information available suggests that major poor cognitive outcomes should not be attributed to this medication. Overall, children exposed to polytherapy prenatally appear to have worse cognitive and behavioral outcomes compared with children exposed to monotherapy, and with the unexposed. There is an increase risk of neurodevelopmental deficits when polytherapy involves the use of valproate versus other agents.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.