Seizure disorders in pregnancy.
This article discusses seizure disorders in pregnancy. Seizure disorder affects 1.1 million women of reproductive age in the United States. In 1995, the annual cost of treatment of patients who had epilepsy was estimated to be 12.5 billion dollars. Seizures are disorganized firing of neural cells. Epilepsy is the presence of two or more seizures in the absence of an identifiable cause for the seizures (ie, no intracranial or metabolic abnormality). Epilepsy has an impact on many aspects of women's health, particularly with respect to reproduction. The management of women who have epilepsy during pregnancy is the focus of this article.
Pschirrer
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Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Dartmouth Medical School, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.
D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*
D000927:Anticonvulsants