Author/Editor		Blejec, Tanja
Title		Management of pregnant women with epilepsy
Type		članek
Source		In: Neurological disorders, operative delivery. Proceedings of the 27th Alpe Adria meeting of perinatal medicine (19th congress); 2005 Oct 7-8; Bassano del Grappa, Italy. Bassano del Grappa: Azienda sanitaria, Unita locale socio-sanitaria no 3,
Publication year		2005
Volume		str. 11-3
Language		eng
Abstract		This article presents pregnancy in epileptic pregnant women, the effects of antiepileptic drugs on the growing fetus and dangerous effects of stopping therapy during pregnancy. Introduction: Epilepsy is the most commonest chronic neurological disorder to complicate pregnancy. Aproximately 0,5% of pregnancies occur in women with epilepsy. Epilepsy is classified to the clincal type of seizure of which the most common are grand mal ( tonic - clonic seizure ), petit mal ( absence seizure ), and temporal lobe seizures ( complex partial seizure ). Most cases of epilepsy are idiopathic and no underlying cause is found. Secondary epilepsy may be encountered in pregnancy in patients who have previously undergone surgery to the cerebral hemisferes or who have intracranial mass lesions. Most women with epilepsy in pregnancy have already been diagnosed before pregnancy. Effect of pregnancy on epilepsy About 10-30% of women experiance an increased seizure freqency in pregnancy. In most the freqancy of seizures is not altered by pregnancy. A woman who has been fit free for many years is unlikely to fit in pregnancy unless she discontinues her medication. Poorly controlled epileptics especialy those who fit more than once a month are more likely to deteriorate during pregnancy. Reasons for deterioration in seizure control during pregnancy include pregnancy itself, poor compliance with antiepileptic drugs, decreased drug levels related to increased volume of distribution and changes in protein binding and increased drug clearance, lack of sleep towards term, lack of absorbtion of anticonvulsant drugs from the gastrointestinal tract. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters)
Descriptors		EPILEPSY ANTICONVULSANTS PREGNANCY ABNORMALITIES, DRUG-INDUCED