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Gestational Changes in Antiseizure Medication Concentrations and the Impact of Polytherapy

Yanjie Duan, Sikai Huang, Leihao Sha, Yutong Fu and 23 more

Neurology | Sep 2, 2026

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Findings support individual therapeutic drug monitoring among women with epilepsy in China and support individual therapeutic drug monitoring in women with epilepsy aged 18-45 years.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pregnancy alters the pharmacokinetics of antiseizure medications (ASMs). The aim of this study was to quantify gestational changes in ASM concentrations and identify independent covariates among women with epilepsy in China. METHODS: In this prospective, multicenter observational cohort study in China, women with epilepsy aged 18-45 years were enrolled and followed longitudinally. Steady-state trough ASM concentrations were measured, with concentration-to-dose (C/D) ratio as the primary pharmacokinetic parameter. Linear mixed-effects models with model averaging were used to evaluate the independent effects of gestational age, concomitant ASMs, and demographic covariates on ASM C/D ratios. RESULTS: = 0.035). Perampanel showed an increasing trend but was limited by sample and polytherapy. Concomitant ASMs primarily shifted baseline C/D ratios without altering gestational changes, and several drug-drug interactions were identified. Higher body weight was associated with lower C/D ratios for most ASMs, except for perampanel. Interindividual variability remained the dominant factor determining C/D ratios over measured covariates. DISCUSSION: Pregnancy was the primary driver of declining C/D ratios, and concomitant ASMs and body weight acted as secondary modifiers. These findings support individual therapeutic drug monitoring. TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: ChiCTR2100046318 (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, chictr.org.cn).

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Researchers on this paper

Yanjie Duan

first | Sichuan University | ORCID 0000-0002-1591-3131

Sikai Huang

middle | Sichuan University | ORCID 0000-0002-8464-2056

Leihao Sha

middle | Sichuan University

Yutong Fu

middle | Sichuan University | ORCID 0009-0001-5831-7321

Wanlin Lai

middle | Sichuan University

Wanling Li

middle | Sichuan University | ORCID 0000-0002-0193-787X

Ximeng Yang

middle | Sichuan University

Huan Qin

middle | Sichuan University

Ruiqi Yang

middle | Sichuan University | ORCID 0000-0003-3188-2547

Zijie Huang

middle | Sichuan University | ORCID 0009-0000-2548-0643

Yi Guo

middle | Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University

Xiangshu Hu

middle | Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital | ORCID 0000-0003-4318-4543

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BibTeX

@article{Duan2026Gestational,
  title = {Gestational Changes in Antiseizure Medication Concentrations and the Impact of Polytherapy},
  author = {Yanjie Duan and Sikai Huang and Leihao Sha and Yutong Fu and Wanlin Lai and Wanling Li and Ximeng Yang and Huan Qin and Ruiqi Yang and Zijie Huang and Yi Guo and Xiangshu Hu and Xiaoyi Li and Yanmei Zhu and Yanping Sun and Yunqian Zhang and Meizhen Sun and Xiaohua Xiao and Houfen Wang and Xiong Han and Zaiwang Li and Ying Ma and Hua Yan and Xin Zou and Torbjörn Tomson and Lei Chen and for the WECARE study group},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000218456},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000218456}
}

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