According to a recent study that was published online in the journal Seizure, more than 33 percent of patients who are suffering from intractable seizures show signs that their seizures are triggered by stress.
The research team consisted of physicians and psychologists from Johns Hopkins. The team discovered that more than one-third of the patients who were admitted to the in-patient epilepsy monitoring unit of Johns Hopkins Hospital presented with symptoms that were caused by stress instead of epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The patients admitted ranged from mothers who were fighting for custody of their kids to returning war veterans who suffered from psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES).
The researchers have stated that the signs of PNES seem to be stress-related mirror epilepsy and are often misdiagnosed as the condition. However, the researchers also believe that because of the abnormal electrical discharges that occur in the brain, this is fairly typical in the neurological disorder. Drugs like Topamax that are used to treat these symptoms don’t actually prevent the patients from having these symptoms, which tells the researchers that the brains’ electrical activity and incidents of PNES is increasing.
Topamax is also used as a means of treating migraines. But it can cause birth defects in babies exposed to the drug in-utero. Some of those birth defects linked to Topamax include PPHN, oral clefts, neural tube defects and heat, lung and brain defects. Most recently, the drug has been causing a stir when it was added to the weight loss drug Qnexa. However, the side effects that go hand in hand with Topamax has caused a second review of Qnexa to be held before it can be fully approved by the FDA.
If your baby was born with any of these birth defects after being exposed to Topamax during gestation, contact Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your baby’s injuries.