Several seizure drugs interfere with contraceptive pills and implants by accelerating the breakdown of an artificial sex hormone used to block conception. The drugs also can increase the risk of birth defects. Krauss' paper in the June issue of Neurology provided a list of eight steps for doctors treating sexually active female epilepsy patients. Doctors can decrease the risk of unplanned pregnancy by increasing birth control medication levels. Depending upon the type of epilepsy, some patients may be able to switch to drugs that don't interfere with birth control pills.
Patients also can use other barrier methods of contraception to further reduce risk.
In the wake of numerous controversies, the nation's fertility specialists should seek stricter oversight and develop ethical and scientific guidelines to improve service and patient trust, says a Johns Hopkins gynecologist and assisted reproduction specialist. These problems must be used for productive purposes. The most recent controversy involves allegations of stolen eggs and embryos and financial and research misconduct at a California university's fertility clinic. The American Medical Association has issued new guidelines to try to prevent further ethical abuses, and Wallach proposes creating a regulatory agency that licenses fertility specialists and clinics and monitors fertility research. The peptide closes a chemical door on the surfaces of certain nerve cells.