After receiving the president of the association Help for parents of children suffering from Anti-convulsant Syndrome (a syndrome that develops during pregnancy, when a future mother takes anti-convulsants to control his epilepsy), the Minister of Social Affairs and Health announced that new measures would be taken without delay.
Even today, children are born disabled as a result of exposure to Depakine®, Dépakote® or Dépamide® during pregnancy, without mothers having been informed of the risks. Indeed, when they are taken by a pregnant woman, these drugs can cause fetal malformations and neurodevelopmental disorders leading to abnormal nervous and motor systems, forms of autism and behavioral disturbances.
The Minister therefore announced that she wished :
• Improve information for women of childbearing age on the effects of sodium valproate by creating a new explicit pictogram indicating a risk in the event of pregnancy, in addition to the written information now visible on the labels of medication boxes.
• Provide specific information in prescription software for healthcare professionals.
• Set up an appropriate channel for the diagnosis and treatment of children suffering from the anticonvulsant syndrome by mobilizing the eight reference centers specializing in developmental anomalies and malformation syndromes.
• Follow up on cases of malformations and developmental anomalies by setting up a national register, in order to collect cases of malformations related to valproate and other drugs.
Read also :
Dépakine: the alternatives offered by the HAS
Dépakine, Dépakote and Micropamide: 450 cases of congenital malformations
