Phenytoin (generic), Dilantin News

HAUPPAUGE,A N.Y. In an unusual dual endorsement of a new medicine, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug for the control of seizures and rated it as bioequivalent to both the original branded formulation of the drug and the leading generic version of the product.

Cynthia Harden, M.D., of the University of Miami, and colleagues have published updated guidelines for use of anti-epileptic drugs in women who wish to get pregnant and those who are in their pregnancy.

Guidelines released this week recommend that women with epilepsy should avoid taking the anti-epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy, because of the risk of harmful effects to the fetus.

Most women with epilepsy can become pregnant safely although they should avoid taking the epilepsy drug valproate and two other medications, according to new guidelines released today at a neurology meeting in Seattle.

New guidelines out today provide some reassurance for the approximately half a million U.S. women of childbearing age who have epilepsy.

Women with epilepsy should avoid taking the drug valproate during pregnancy if possible, according to new guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society.

The study's authors say that women of childbearing age should avoid valproate as a first choice drug for the treatment of epilepsy.

Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.

Children born to women who took the epilepsy drug Depakote while pregnant had lower IQ scores than those whose moms took three other anti- seizure meds, research published this week shows.

According to a new study, children of mothers who took the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy had lower IQs than children of mothers who used other anti-seizure medications.

If you're among the 800,000 American women of childbearing age with epilepsy, you and your obstetrician will have some medical decisions to make.

Studies suggest that children of mothers who take Depakote during pregnancy have lower IQs than those of women taking some other anti-seizure drugs which are used as mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder.

Toddlers of mothers who took the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy had lower IQs than the children of women who used other anti-seizure medicines, according to a new study.

Featured Article Main Category: Epilepsy Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics ; Headache / Migraine ; Pediatrics / Children's Health Article Date: 16 Apr 2009 - 2:00 PDT printer friendly view / write opinions rate article A study found that children born to women who took the anti-epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant tended to score ...

Exposure to the drug valproate in utero might hurt a child's cognition. This chart shows IQ scores for children age 3 who had been exposed to one of four antiepilepsy drugs in the womb.

Kimford J. Meador, M.D., Gus A. Baker, Ph.D., Nancy Browning, Ph.D., Jill Clayton-Smith, M.D., Deborah T. Combs-Cantrell, M.D., Morris Cohen, Ed.D., Laura A. Kalayjian, M.D., Andres Kanner, M.D., Joyce D. Liporace, M.D., Page B. Pennell, M.D., Michael Privitera, M.D., David W. Loring, Ph.D., for the NEAD Study Group ABSTRACT Background Fetal ...

To the Editor: In the Case Record of a patient with hypocalcemic seizures due to vitamin D deficiency, discussed by Holick et al.

Some natural weight-loss products are not so "natural" after all. In a crackdown of the multibillion-dollar supplement industry, the Food and Drug Administration has found 72 over-the-counter weight-loss products that contain potentially dangerous undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients, some that have not been approved for use in this country.

ImranRaoufMalik Abstract Saliva is an underused fluid with considerable promise for biomedical testing.

Retired business editor Jack Markowitz's columns are published on Sundays and Thursdays.