Preliminary findings of the developmental effects of in utero exposure to topiramate

Abstract

There are relatively few studies that have looked at the longer-term developmental effects of intra-uterine topiramate exposure. The purpose of this report is to describe preliminary findings of the developmental outcomes of a group of nine children of preschool age (3-6 years, 11 months), exposed in utero to topiramate (TX) monotherapy, as compared to a control group of 18 children. The groups were compared on developmental measures of visual, fine and gross motor function as well as measures of behavior and cognitive functions. Results showed that the TX group performed significantly worse than the control group for almost all measures, with the most clearly delineated differences in the area of cognitive functioning. While the study group is small, and only preliminary conclusions may be inferred, it appears that TX exposure may have subtle effects on the development of children in a range of areas including motor function, cognition, and behavior.