Epilepsy drug 'doubles children's autism risk' if their mother takes it while pregnant - Daily Mail

An urgent review has been launched into topiramate, known by the brand name Topamax, which has been prescribed for decades.

The MHRA launched its investigation late last month, after Scandinavian scientists conducted an observational study looking at rates of autism and intellectual disability in children whose mothers took topiramate while pregnant.

They found that about three per cent of such children had an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis – double the 1.5 per cent rate among those not exposed to the drug

An urgent review has been launched into topiramate, known by the brand name Topamax, which has been prescribed for decades. A file photo is used above

Some 3.5 per cent of children whose mothers took it while pregnant were diagnosed with an intellectual disability – about four times higher than the rate of 0.8 per cent among those unexposed