Researchers have pointed out that during pregnancy women who take epilepsy drug valproate are more likely to have mentally retarded children than those who consume other epilepsy medicines. Scholars postulated that one out of five women who consumed the medications, last year, had pregnancies that resulted in fetal death or birth defects, including malformed hearts and genitals, cleft palates and artery deformities. Nearly, 2.7 million Americans suffers from epilepsy, where valproate had been kept on the pedestal as an antidote for the mounting problem. The drug is also used to treat migraine headaches and some psychiatric conditions, including bipolar disorder. The latest study, led by Dr. Kimford J. Meador of the University of Florida in Gainesville, compared the IQs of 185 2-year-olds whose mothers had taken one of four epilepsy drugs while pregnant. In addition to valproate, the drugs were carbamazepine, sold as Tegretol, lamotrigine (Lamictal) and phenytoin (Dilantin). IQs were determined using the Bayley Scale for infant and toddler development. Researchers said a score of 100 was average and below 70 was mentally impaired. Children whose mothers had taken valproate had an average IQ of 81, compared to an average of 96 for children in the carbamazepine group, 94 for the lamotrigine group and 95 for the phenytoin group. Twenty-four percent of children whose mothers took valproate had IQs below 70, compared to 13% for carbamazepine, 11% for lamotrigine and 12% for phenytoin. In the general population, an average of 2% of children has IQs below 70. Hence, it proves that epilepsy drugs pose serious repercussions; however, the Food and Drug Administration gave no comment on the story. Image Read