ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702140089
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA G. BOODMAN THE WASHINGTON POST
Do antidepressants taken by a woman during pregnancy harm the developing brain of her fetus? For years, doctors haven't known and women who took such drugs were left with a painful dilemma: stop taking medication and risk a relapse or continue taking it and risk possible fetal brain damage.
A study by Canadian researchers published in the Jan. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine seems to contain some reassuring news. It found that preschool children born to women who took Prozac, the world's best-selling drug, and to those who took tricyclics, another class of antidepressants, showed no differences in IQ scores, language development or behavior from children whose mothers did not take these medications.
Doctors had not believed that these drugs cause major birth defects, but it has been uncertain what impact they might have during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a critical period for brain development.
Researchers at several hospitals in Ontario, led by Irena Nulman of the Motherrisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, studied more than 200 children from birth until their seventh birthday.
Of these, 55 were born to mothers who had taken Prozac during some or all of their pregnancy, 80 were born to women who took a tricyclic, usually amitriptyline, and 84 were in a control group: their mothers took no psychiatric drugs.
All the children underwent a battery of tests at regular intervals. The research team also assessed maternal IQ.
Among preschoolers the mean IQ scores were 117 in the Prozac group, 118 in the tricyclic group and 115 in the control group. There were no differences in the rates of complications after delivery or in childhood behavior problems.
One difference researchers noted was in maternal behavior: The mothers who took antidepressants smoked more cigarettes and drank more alcohol than did those in the control group.
On balance, the researchers concluded that the potential benefits of antidepressants outweigh the possible risks. ``When maternal depression is not optimally controlled, there is ample evidence of adverse outcomes in infants and young children in a variety of domains, including cognitive, language and behavioral, as well as higher rates of perinatal risks.''
LENGTH: Short : 47 linesby CNB