Published on 12, July, 2020
I diddnt know till this evening that this epeleptic drug can cause autism, now though i did not take this when pregnant,do you think this could stay in your system or do something that causes it? i started taking this medication when i was around 15 to the age of 18 and wondering if this possibley could be the cause? however it should have well dissapeared out my system????/
There remains the issue whether taking epilim (sodium valproate) during pregnancy increases the risk of autism.
Another site referring to this in November last year is www.mhra.gov.uk/.../CON336719 MHRA is the body that registers and regulates drug use.
It is headed "Sodium valproate special reminder on risk of neurodevelopmental delay in children following maternal use - not for use in pregancy unless there is no effective alternative"
It is then clearly stated that it can cause autistic spectrum disorder, and that it "should not be used during pregnancy and in women of childbearing potential unless clearly necessary".
The risk of an abnormal birth is 2 to 3 times higher than for those not taking it.
Sodium valproate has been prescribed for epilepsy and bipolar disorder since 1973. It was prescribed during pregnancy to prevent seizures, so as best as I can determine, to pre-empt the possibility of eliptectic responses during pregancy, rather than that a mother was known to be predisposed. Was it used unwisely?
The thing I don't understand is why the NAS website seemingly knows nothing about this. I searched both sodium valproate and epilim on the search function on the home page and couldn't find it.
Surely something this important to understanding autism is fully known to NAS and to researchers studying the causes of autism?
NAS Moderators - can you explain this?