In the study, conducted by British and Irish researchers, there were 16 major birth defects among 178 live births in patients taking topiramate. Three of these defects were in women taking topiramate on its own and 13 were in those whose mothers were taking it with other epilepsy medications, such as valproate.
The birth defects included four cleft palates or cleft lips, a rate of birth defects 11 times higher than in women not taking the drugs. And four baby boys had genital birth defects, two of them considered major, a rate 14 times higher than in women not on the drugs.
Though the study was small in scope, researchers say the results should be taken into account by physicians when prescribing topiramate.
