Antiepileptic Drugs and Pregnancy

A description of our current understanding of antiepileptic drug use during pregnancy, this book includes chapters on the impact of seizures on the mother and developing child, changes in maternal physiology during pregnancy and its impact on drug disposition, and the pharmacokinetic differences between the various anti-seizure medications. It also deals with the possible harmful effects of antiepileptic drug exposure during pregnancy on the physical and intellectual development of the fetus. Clinicians have to balance the potential adverse effects of the medicine for the fetus and mother-to-be against the risks that uncontrolled seizures hold for both when treating pregnant women with antiepileptic drugs. Only recently have enough scientific data emerged to provide a rational basis for treatment decisions that take in both aspects. This work provides a single, accessible and up-to-date resource for busy clinicians.

Frank JE Vajda was trained in Melbourne and London.  He is Past President of the Epilepsy Society of Australia, Founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Clinical Neuropharmacology,Founder and Director of the AustralianPregnancy Register, Member of the Central Project Commission of EURAP and Professorial Fellow, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne. Previously, he was Professor of Clinical Neuropharmacology at Monash University.

Mervyn Eadie is currently Emeritus Professor of Clinical Neurology and Neuropharmacology in the University of Queensland and Honorary Consultant Neurologist to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. He was formerly Chairman of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee. His main research interests in recent years have been in the clinical pharmacology of drugs used for treating neurological disease and in the histories of epilepsy and migraine.