The goal of this study is to develop modeling of pharmacokinetic changes for Antiseizure medications (ASMs), lamotrigine (LTG), and levetiracetam (LEV) during pregnancy and postpartum that can be used to:~Adjust doses in practice without obtaining frequent visits to the lab for therapeutic drug monitoring.~Predict exposure of LTG and LEV in mothers and their infants in order to maintain the individualized target concentrations, thus protecting mothers from seizure worsening and minimizing fetal toxicity.~Hypotheses:~Drug concentrations obtained in preconception and early pregnancy predict clearance changes throughout the remainder of pregnancy for individual pregnant women with epilepsy (WWE).~Validated model allows the prediction of drug concentration changes at all stages throughout and after pregnancy, which will more accurately predict increased seizures and medication side effects.
This project focuses on anti-seizure medication (ASM) clearance and physiological factors determining blood concentrations in pregnant adult women with epilepsy and amounts of exposure to their unborn children and nursing infants.