Antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy

Warren Blume's article on epilepsy¹ discusses the teratogenicity of antiepilepsy medications. The effect of single agents is unknown, and even less well understood is the teratogenic effect of combinations of drugs.

An ongoing study at Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard Medical School is using telephone interviews of pregnant women, along with follow-up questionnaires sent to neonates' doctors, to assess outcomes when these drugs are used. Entry into the study is free, and the toll-free number to register (888 233-2334) works from Canada.

We can only hope that a prospective study such as this one, which is assessing a variety of drugs at various doses and in various combinations, will yield information that will be helpful for future counselling of pregnant women. I encourage physicians to ask their patients to enrol.

Richard Gruneir Obstetrician/Gynecologist Leamington, Ont.