EMA safe­ty com­mit­tee ramps up warn­ing against use of top­i­ra­mate dur­ing preg­nan­cy

The Eu­ro­pean Med­i­cines Agency’s safe­ty com­mit­tee has is­sued a new warn­ing against us­ing top­i­ra­mate, a drug com­mon­ly used to treat epilep­sy and mi­graines, dur­ing preg­nan­cy.

The com­mit­tee launched a re­view last year in­to a po­ten­tial in­creased risk of neu­rode­vel­op­men­tal dis­or­ders in chil­dren ex­posed to top­i­ra­mate in the womb. On Fri­day, its Phar­ma­covig­i­lance Risk As­sess­ment Com­mit­tee (PRAC) said preg­nant women should not take the drug to pre­vent mi­graine or man­age body weight, and should on­ly use it for the treat­ment of epilep­sy if there are no oth­er op­tions.

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