All medicines have expected benefits and known risks. The Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance in the USA has published a paper to help parents weigh up the risks and benefits when considering treatment with vigabatrin for infantile spasms or epilepsy.
The TS Alliance’s publication examines the published evidence relating to the risk of “vigabatrin associated visual field loss”, also known as VAVFL. People with VAVFL are less able to see things around the edges of their field of vision.
The paper was written by Dr Darcy Krueger of the TSC Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Dr Krueger concludes that concerns about VAVFL alone should not preclude treatment with vigabatrin because the risk of significant VAVFL is low, much lower than the risks associated with inadequate or poor seizure control.
Any parents who have concerns or question about the benefits and risks of vigabatrin should discuss these with their child’s doctor.
You can download a copy of Dr Krueger’s paper here
