Topamax Linked To Cleft Lip

Anti-Seizure Drug Topamax Linked To Cleft Lip

What Causes Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip?

What causes cleft palate or cleft lip? Cleft lip and cleft palate are clefting congenital deformities. They are characterized by abnormal development of a child’s face while still in the womb. In essence, the cleft is a gap or an opening in the child’s upper lip and palette area. Cleft lip, also known as cheiloschisis, refers to a relatively small opening that does not affect palate structure of the mouth or reach the upper lip or bottom nose area.

What Causes Cleft Lip—Genetics

What causes cleft lip, medically speaking? A microform cleft lip is the least severe form of this condition, and is only noticeable as a dent or scar in the red part of the lip. Cleft palette, or palatoschisis, is the most severe case of this condition and is characterized by a large indentation or gap in the lip that reaches into the nose. A cleft palette can be completely unilateral or bilateral or incomplete unitaliteral.

Cleft lip and cleft palate deformities occur because of a problem in formation of the primary palate, which ordinarily is brought on by fusion of maxillary and medial nasal processes. This complex process, related to what doctors call rapid proliferative expansion, can be influenced not only by genetics but also by environmental issues.

Deformities occur within the first 6-8 weeks of pregnancy, as this is when the embryo’s head is formed. There are three processes occurring here; frontonasal prominence, maxillar prominence and mandibular prominence. Whenever these associated tissues fail to come together, a gap or gaps will occur.

The two major factors that determine a malformed face are genetics and environment. Though genetic influencing factors are far from concrete, there have been patterns observed, suggesting that parents with a cleft lip or palate can pass the condition on to children. In most cases, there is not necessarily a syndrome listed as the cause of the deformity; it is simply a characteristic passed on. However, some syndromes can bring on cleft lip and cleft palates, including Van der Woude Syndrome and
Siderius X.

What Causes Cleft Palata—Environment

Environmental factors can also influence genetics and cause the development of cleft palate or cleft lip. Exposure to smoking, alcohol and hypertension treatment have been linked with what causes cleft lip. There have also been reports suggesting that exposure to pesticide, certain prescription drugs, nitrate compounds and retinoids can increase the chance of cleft palate and cleft lip.

What about the FDA and Topamax for Cleft Palate?

Topamax or Topiramate is an anticonvulsant drug used for the treatment of epilepsy. Ortho-McNeil Neurologics and Noramco (owned by Johnson & Johnson) manufacture this medication. As recently as March 2011, the FDA announced that there is a significant risk of cleft lip and cleft palate development for women who take Topamax while pregnant. The evidence is enough to merit the FDA issuing an official warning, though no product ban or recall has been announced.

For more information about Topamax, what causes cleft lip and alternatives to anticonvulsant drugs, talk to your doctor.