Get A Free Legal Consultation
- We fight to maximize your results
- No out-of-pocket costs
- Over $9 billion recovered for families
Dangerous Topamax side effects have become the subject of potential lawsuits. Topamax has been linked to birth defects in children after unsuspecting mothers took the drug thinking it was safe.
New studies indicate that taking Topamax (topiramate) during pregnancy increases the risk of cleft lip, cleft palate and/or genital birth defects in newborns. Further warnings indicate that Topamax can also be harmful to breastfeeding newborns. In 2011, the FDA issued a warning to mothers about the dangerous birth defects this drug can cause in newborns. Topamax lawsuits have been filed against the drug’s manufacturer Ortho MacNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and it’s parent company Johnson & Johnson.
In 2012, North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry published a studyfollowing 5,667 pregnant women from 1997 to 2011 who took anticonvulsants like Topamax and the resulting risk of infant malformations. The data found an increase of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including birth defects and low birth weight, linked to Topamax. Researchers concluded that exposure to topiramate resulted in a 10-fold increased risk of cleft lip compared to that of the reference population.
The Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry reports a 3.8 percent prevalence of oral birth defects in children exposed to Topamax in utero during the first trimester.
Two of the particular risks listed by this registry are cleft lip and/or cleft palate in newborns, which is known to develop in the first trimester of pregnancy before many women even know that they are pregnant.
Common congenital defects related to first-trimester exposure to Topmax include the following:
It has also been noted that Topamax can pass into the newborn mother’s milk, which can, in turn, cause newborns to be exposed to trace amounts during breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding while taking Topamax can cause the following symptoms in newborns:
If you believe your child may have been affected by Topamax, contact your physician immediately.
The following is a timeline of events in the discovery of Topamax symptoms of side effects (birth defects) in infants: