Foetal safety of old and new antiepileptic drugs

Introduction: Drugs teratogenicity has been studied for many years, especially teratogenic effects of antiepileptic drugs, because of the important impact that epilepsy has always had for young women, but data from literature are often conflicting.

Areas covered: We have carried out a critical review of all human studies about the antiepileptic drugs teratogenicity. A systematic search was performed in Medline and PubMed up to May 1, 2015. The use of older antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of fetus malformations; in particular, Valproate can determine neural-tube-like defects; in Phenytoin and Phenobarbital-exposed pregnancies, orofacial clefts, cardiac and genitourinary malformations are the major anomalies described. Spina bifida is the only specific major congenital malformation significantly associated with exposure to Carbamazepine monotherapy Despite the small number of studies on the teratogenic effects of new antiepileptic drugs, the analysis of the literature shows that exposure of the fetus to the new antiepileptic drugs is associated with a lower risk of major congenital malformations compared to the use of older drugs.

Expert opinion: Where possible, Valproate should be avoided in women of childbearing potential. Results about the safety of newer antiepileptic drugs require validation and further investigation.