May 19, 2005
Antipsychotics OK during Pregnancy?
A new report out of Canada that included 151 women suggests that taking antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa(olanzapine), Risperdal, clozapine, etc. may be OK during pregnancy.
Reuter's reports that "Pregnant women who take atypical antipsychotics such as clozapine, olanzapine, or risperidone, do not appear to be at increased risk of giving birth to a child with a birth defect"
In the study...
"A total of 60 women had been exposed to olanzapine, 49 to risperidone, 36 to quetiapine, and 6 to clozapine. The outcomes in these women were compared to outcomes in a group of pregnant women who had not been exposed to these medications.
According to the team, rates of major malformations, miscarriage and stillbirths were similar in the exposed group and non-exposed comparison group."
See full story here
Posted by szadmin at May 19, 2005 06:24 AM
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Comments
Isnt this sample too small to small to be valid? Maybe its just a matter of time till we get lots of research done?
Posted by: beatle at May 19, 2005 01:52 PM
Good question Beatle.
I don't think that 151 people is that small a sample - I would call it a "moderate" size sample. Typically a small sample for a clinical trial is on the order of 20 to 40 people. Larger clinical studies are on the order of 500 to 1,000 people (for new drugs).
So this sample is somewhere in the middle - and given the difficulty and high cost in finding these people (and administering the trial) - I suspect that you may not see trials much larger than this.
Whatever the case - its a good sign.
Posted by: Sz Administrator at May 19, 2005 08:44 PM
It's been known for quite some time that taking Clozapine is safe during pregnancy. I know of several women who have delivered perfectly normal babies while taking this med.
Posted by: Glesgalass at May 20, 2005 06:56 AM
The real issue is the duration of the study - this only shows no birth defects immediately after birth. It does not address the affect on child long-term. The fundemental question for most of us is, does exposure to anti-psychotics increase or decrease the long-term risk of the child developing sz?
Posted by: Person at May 25, 2005 04:59 AM
I was taking Risperdal on a regular basis, sometimes skipped. But I take it for full nine months I was pregnant. I was really worried that my baby would be effected, but he came out at 10.5 lb, and everything seem ok. Could be big bc of my eating habits. Anyway, he can be pretty fuzzy but maybe that's just him, not sure if it's from the meds. Now he's 9 mos, he seem to be growing normally and actually healthier than many others. Just hope it doesn't affect him later. But I don't plan to take Risperdal next pregnancy. I actually stopped taking them after he was born and I feel fine...am not really certain if I have the illness or something else.
Posted by: May at January 16, 2007 08:02 AM
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Isnt this sample too small to small to be valid? Maybe its just a matter of time till we get lots of research done?
Posted by: beatle at May 19, 2005 01:52 PM
Good question Beatle.
I don't think that 151 people is that small a sample - I would call it a "moderate" size sample. Typically a small sample for a clinical trial is on the order of 20 to 40 people. Larger clinical studies are on the order of 500 to 1,000 people (for new drugs).
So this sample is somewhere in the middle - and given the difficulty and high cost in finding these people (and administering the trial) - I suspect that you may not see trials much larger than this.
Whatever the case - its a good sign.
Posted by: Sz Administrator at May 19, 2005 08:44 PM
It's been known for quite some time that taking Clozapine is safe during pregnancy. I know of several women who have delivered perfectly normal babies while taking this med.
Posted by: Glesgalass at May 20, 2005 06:56 AM
The real issue is the duration of the study - this only shows no birth defects immediately after birth. It does not address the affect on child long-term. The fundemental question for most of us is, does exposure to anti-psychotics increase or decrease the long-term risk of the child developing sz?
Posted by: Person at May 25, 2005 04:59 AM
I was taking Risperdal on a regular basis, sometimes skipped. But I take it for full nine months I was pregnant. I was really worried that my baby would be effected, but he came out at 10.5 lb, and everything seem ok. Could be big bc of my eating habits. Anyway, he can be pretty fuzzy but maybe that's just him, not sure if it's from the meds. Now he's 9 mos, he seem to be growing normally and actually healthier than many others. Just hope it doesn't affect him later. But I don't plan to take Risperdal next pregnancy. I actually stopped taking them after he was born and I feel fine...am not really certain if I have the illness or something else.
Posted by: May at January 16, 2007 08:02 AM