Video News Release

Summary

Experts brought together by the Epilepsy Foundation at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society announced a new initiative to raise awareness about the risks certain antiepileptic drugs may pose for women who are pregnant, or who are thinking about becoming pregnant.

The convergence of statistically-significant data from antiepileptic drug pregnancy registries from around the world is beginning to provide clear guidance to women and their physicians about the use of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy and the risk of birth defects to the woman's child.

Some antiepileptic drugs are associated with greatly-increased birth defect risk, while others show promise of much lower risk. Antiepileptic drug use is growing, as they are increasingly used for treatment of several non-epileptic neurological pain symptoms such as migraines and tremor, and for psychiatric disorders such as mood and bipolar disorders. This information is relevant to a growing number of patients in the population—and the physicians who treat them—as more than 56 million antiepileptic drugs were prescribed to women in the 12-month period ending September 2004. (Source: Scott-Levin’s NRx Monthly AED market report.)

Women can learn more about the registries and enroll in one online. The North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry encourages women who are taking AEDs to call (888) 233-2334 early in their pregnancy.

The video news release is available for viewing at:

• RealPlayer: http://easylink.playstream.com/nbn/12_09_23609.rm
• WindowsMedia: http://easylink.playstream.com/nbn/12_09_23609.wvx