Scientific Society Symposium
Contraception in women with seizure disorder The prevalence of epilepsy is 0.3 – 0.7% among women and 1/3 of them are in the risk of unintended pregnancy from which only 50% is planned. The reason of the inefficiency is the lack of contraception or using inappropriate method. The interaction between enzyme inductive antiepileptics (EiAED) and combined hormonal contraceptives (COCs) is known. Therefore, it is important to know the mechanism of action of antiepileptics and contraceptives as well as their drug interaction because the appropriate treatment depends on the selection of the most effective contraceptive with less side-effect. The effects of the EiAED and COC interaction may be: a) unwanted pregnancy, b) teratogenicity or negative effect on the development of the offspring, c) changes in seizure control. Nowadays, epileptic women do not always get the right information from the specialist. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the co-operation and consultation between the epileptologist and the gynaecologist in order to reach better seizure control with more effective contraception. At the time of the first visit at the gynaecologist, the most appropriate contraceptive method has to be selected considering the interaction with antiepileptic drugs.