The impact and challenges of the 2018 MHRA statement on the use of sodium valproate in women of childbearing age during the first year of implementation, in a UK epilepsy centre

Sodium valproate was first approved for use in the treatment of epilepsy in 1978. It has particular efficacy in the treatment of the genetic generalized epilepsies [1], where effective alternative treatments are limited. In 1980, a letter published in The Lancet raised concern about the teratogenic potential of valproate in animal models [2], and in 1982, a birth defects monitoring system in France detected a relatively high rate of sodium valproate use in mothers of children born with neural tube defects.

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