Nervous System Drugs Linked To Leukemia

Nervous System Drugs Linked To Leukemia



(DrEddyClinic News) Women who take some forms of antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs during pregnancy greatly increase the risk that their children will develop leukemia, according to a new Canadian study.At the same time, the research suggests that the risk of the most common form of childhood cancer can be virtually eliminated by taking folic acid supplements during pregnancyhttp://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=42. 

The findings show that taking central nervous system depressants -- a category that consists of a wide range of drugs including barbiturates like Seconal, anti-anxiety drugs like Valium, and sleeping pills like Halcion and not allowed -- while pregnant leads to a six-fold increase in a child's risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Those drugs are all used to help treat depression http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=109. 

"If you can avoid these drugs during pregnancy, you should," said Claire Infante-Rivard, a professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal and one of the study's authors. 

But she cautioned that the dangers of women stopping psychiatric treatment abruptly are significant and any decision about medications should be made in conjunction with a physician. 

"This data is concerning, but we have to be measured in our response," Dr. Infante-Rivard said. 

The study, published in the medical journal Cancer Causes and Control, found that an alarmingly high number of women -- one in seven -- take drugs during pregnancy that can harm the fetus. 

These so-called teratogenic drugs include CNS antidepressants, epileptic drugs, immunosuppressants, oral contraceptives, anti-nausea drugs and a number of illicit drugs http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=65. 

The data show that antidepressants, by far, pose the greatest risk. That is likely because the childhood cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=78 tends to originate in the central nervous system. 

The study did not look specifically at selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a newer class of antidepressants. Earlier this year, Health Canada warned pregnant women that taking SSRIs during pregnancy could cause serious side effects in newborns. 

The new research, however, showed that pregnant women who take anti-inflammatories -- a class of drugs that includes Advil, Motrin and dozens of other prescription and non-prescription drugs -- also see the risk of their child developing leukemia rise substantially. These drugs are not currently considered teratogenic. 

Dr. Infante-Rivard warned, however, that the data have to be interpreted with caution. "The numbers are very small so we have to be careful. But we really should be doing further research," she said. 

The study was conducted among the mothers of 780 children born with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the province of Quebec between 1980 and 2000. Their drug use during pregnancy was compared to that of a similar number of women whose children did not develop the disease. 

ALL, as it is known, is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian children. There are about 250 cases a year in Canada, about 20 per cent of all childhood cancers http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15. 

To date, little is known about its causes, except that it can be caused by in utero exposure to X-rays and that children born with Down syndrome are predisposed to developing that type of cancer. But the new research suggests that taking drugs like antidepressants may be a significant factor. 

The new study also offers hope that women can greatly reduce the odds that their child will develop leukemia by taking cheap folic acid supplements. 

It is recommended that all women of childbearing age take folic acid (a synthetic version of vitamin B-9), a micronutrient that is essential to early neurological development of the fetus. 

Getting adequate folic acid during pregnancy, meaning at least 0.4 milligrams daily, can virtually eliminate the risk that a baby will be born with a neural tube defect like spina bifida, and greatly reduces the risk of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. 

Folic acid is also believed to help prevent cardiovascular disease. 

The new study suggests that ALL should be added to the list of conditions that folic acid supplementation can prevent.