Seizure Remedy for Babies Found to Lower IQs

A medicine widely used to treat babies who have convulsions during high fevers can at least temporarily lower their IQs and should not be routinely used, researchers have concluded.

The medicine, phenobarbital, is the drug of choice for infants with so-called febrile seizures. Doctors routinely prescribe it to prevent the convulsions from recurring.

The researchers found a small but measurable decline in the IQs of youngsters who took the medicine for two years. They also found that the treatment failed to significantly reduce the seizures.

Dr. Deborah G. Hirtz, a co-author of the study at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said there has been growing concern about the possible hazards of phenobarbital.

“In this trial, we wanted to ask the question of whether there were specific cognitive and behavioral side effects in young children treated for febrile seizures,” she said. “The major outcome variable was the IQ test at the end of treatment. We did find that there was a difference between children who had been given phenobarbital and those given placebos.”

After two years of treatment, the IQs of those taking phenobarbital were eight points lower than those who had taken placebos, or dummy pills. Six months after they went off the drug, their IQs were still five points lower.

Convulsions are common complications of childhood infections that cause high fevers.