Valproic acid or 2-Propylpentanoic acid is CH₃CH₂CH₂CH(CH₂CH₂CH₃)COOH .

Sodium valproate (also known as valproate, or VPA) is a sodium salt of valproic acid.

Divalproex Sodium - marketed by Abbott Laboratories as Depakote® in the USA and Canada and as Epilim® in the UK and Australia - is the semisodium salt of valproic acid, made by combining sodium valproate with valproic acid to form a chemical complex which contains half the sodium of an equivalent dose of sodium valproate.

Valproic acid, delivered in either of these forms, is a anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug used primarily in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder; but also used to treat migraine headaches and schizophrenia. In epileptics, valproic acid is used to control absence seizures, tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal), complex partial seizures, and the seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Valproate is believed to affect the function of the neurotransmitter GABA (as a GABA transaminase inhibitor) in the human brain.

Side Effects

Common side effects are dyspepsia and/or weight-gain. Less common are dizziness, drowsiness, hair-loss, headaches, nausea, sedation and tremors,

Valproic acid can also rarely cause blood dyscrasia, impaired liver function, jaundice, thrombocytopenia, and prolonged coagulation times. In ~5% of pregnant users, valproic acid will cross the placenta and cause congenital anomalies.

There have also been reports of cognitive dysfunction, Parkinsonian syndrome and even pseudoatrophic brain changes in long-term treatment with valproic acid.

External links

• The Lundbeck Institute Guide to Psychotropics - Valproic acid (http://www.psychotropics.dk/usr_view_molecule.asp?ID=2372&backurl=Alphaindex%2Fview%5Falpha%2Easp%3FStartchar%3DD&backurlname=Alphabetical+index&historyline=&Catalogtype=A)
• http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/moodstabilizers.htm
• http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/valproate.htm
• http://www.crazymeds.org/depakote.html