Free Republic

A drug used to prevent epileptic seizures and migraine has been found to double the chances of a child developing autism if their mother takes it while pregnant. An urgent review has been launched into topiramate, known by the brand name Topamax, which has been prescribed for decades. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has begun a safety review to assess the ‘benefits and risks’ of the drug, which is likely to raise the odds of other intellectual impairments, as well as congenital birth defects. It follows warnings about another epilepsy drug, sodium valproate, marketed as Epilim, which...

March 27, 2009. I was fine the night before. The little cold I’d had was gone, and I’d had the first good night’s sleep all week. But when I woke up Friday morning at 6:15 and got out of bed, the world was whirling counterclockwise. I knocked against the bookcase, stumbled through the bathroom doorway and landed on my knees in front of the sink. It was as though I’d been tripped by a ghost lurking beside the bed. Even when I was on all fours, the spinning didn’t stop. Lightheaded, reaching for solid support, I made it back to...