ALERT: IQ low in toddlers whose mothers took valproate (Depakote)

Depakote is a so-called mood-stabilizer that is routinely prescribed to people who are labeled with mood disorders. From Reuters:

Children born to women who took the epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant had lower IQs at least up to age 3 than the children of women who took rival epilepsy drugs, researchers reported on Wednesday.

The findings add to evidence that the pill is harmful to unborn children. It is sold by Sanofi-Aventis as Epilim and as Depakine in the United States by Abbott Laboratories. (read the rest)

Update: Now being reported in the New York Times too.

And now the source of the study–an abstract in the New England Journal of Medicine