Efavirenz, a drug used in the treatment of HIV, may increase the risk of microcephaly among children whose mothers take the medication during pregnancy, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School researchers and supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The study, led by Harvard Chan’s Paige Williams, looked at data from more than 3,000 infants whose mothers had HIV and found that children born to mothers taking efavirenz were twice as likely to have microcephaly compared with children whose mothers did not take the medication, according to a November 19, 2019 article in TheHealthMania.
The researchers said the findings indicate that clinicians should consider alternatives to efavirenz when treating pregnant women who have HIV.
Read TheHealthMania article: HIV Drug “Efavirenz” May Cause Developmental Delay In Children