Depakote, Valproic Acid News

After a new study linked Depakote and other valproate medications taken during pregnancy to an increased risk of autism and autism spectrum disorders, the FDA has decided to put its strongest warning for pregnancy associated complications on the drug, designating it pregnancy class X for migraine prevention, which means that the drug's dangers ... (more)

We don't have an e-mail address on file for you. To use AAFP Connection, you must have an e-mail address in our records.

Low-dose estrogen oral contraceptives may increase a woman's risk for chronic pelvic-pain symptoms and even pain during sexual climax, a new study suggests.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is inclined to think not. The agency reports that only one in five U.S. adults gets the recommended amount of aerobic and muscle strengthening exercise.

Federal health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that a half-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children's intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.

The FDA has alerted healthcare providers and patients that medications including and related to valproate sodium can cause decreased IQ scores in children whose mothers took the medication during pregnancy.

U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children's intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.

U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children's intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.

Dr. Chris Stodgell, Ph.D. of University of Rochester School of Medicine said, "The drug valproic acid is one that we've done research with." Known by the names Depakote or Depakene, valproic acid is used to treat seizures and may also be included in migraine or psychiatric drugs.

Pregnant women who took the antiseizure drug valproate during pregnancy increased the odds that their baby would have autism and were roughly twice as likely to give birth to a child who would go on to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to a large study that captured 10 years of births in Denmark.

Doctors are calling it an important find in Autism research and it's something every woman planning to have a baby should know.