Around 25,000 children in the United States are born to mothers with epilepsy each year. Recent study found that children of women with epilepsy who took the drug valproate (Depakote) during pregnancy had lower I Q at the age of three as compared to other children.

Research team led by Kimford J. Meador, MD, professor of neurology at Emory University in Atlanta data collected from pregnant women with epilepsy who received care at 25 epilepsy centers in the U. S. and the United Kingdom from late 1999 to early 2004. The children were followed for six years.

Kimford J. Meador said: "Valproate exposure to the unborn child is associated with a lower IQ, which is not explained by any of the other factors [influencing IQ], such as mother's IQ, mother's age, or epilepsy type."

He added that the average IQ of children born to women who took valproate was 92 -- 8 below the 100 that is considered average -- and the scores of those exposed to other epilepsy drugs ranged from 98 to 101.

However in 5 percent of epilepsy patients, valproate, also known as valproic acid, is the only drug that works well. Researchers concluded that doctors should try other drugs before prescribing this drug.