US News

EPILEPSY ALERT

ATLANTA — Children of moms who took the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy had lower IQs than the children of women who used other anti-seizure medicines, according to a new study.

The valproate children scored six to nine points lower by age 3, said the report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The drug had previously been linked to birth defects, particularly spina bifida.