Baller-Gerold syndrome (BGS) is characterized by craniosynostosis and preaxial upper-limb malformations, and it has an autosomal recessive inheritance. Valproate syndrome occurs after exposure to valproic acid in utero, and is characterized by trigonocephaly. Both syndromes can also present with other malformations. Herein, we report a female newborn and her brother who both had a history of fe...

Sodium valproate is an effective antiepileptic drug used as monotherapy or adjuvant/alternative with other antiepileptic drugs. Haematological toxicity of this drug, though rare, is now an established fact and comprises mainly of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and aplastic anemia. Very few cases of Pure Red Cell Aplasia (PRCA) following valproate therapy were reported in last 35 years but none p...

Liver impairment is a recognised adverse effect of long-term sodium valproate treatment, but there are few reports concerning its occurrence after acute overdose. This report describes a 36-year-old woman who deliberately ingested 32 g of sodium valproate (Epilim). Serum valproate concentration was 4370 μmol/l (630 mg/l) at 4.3 h post-ingestion (therapeutic reference range: 300-600 μmol/l), and...

The case history and toxicological findings of a fatal suicidal valproic acid overdose are presented. Valproic acid concentrations were determined in body tissues and fluids by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) following both direct extraction and the method of standards addition and quantitative fluorescence polarization immunoassay. The quantitative results obtained by the three procedures were...

Dear Sir, Neural tube defects are reported to be commoner in women treated with sodium valproate than in women without epilepsy and higher doses carry an increased risk1–5. The mechanisms are unknown. I would like to report a twin pregnancy in a woman treated with sodium valproate in which one of discordant twins had a neural tube defect. She was a 28 year-old lady with idiopathic generalized e...

Migraine is a common and incapacitating neurologic disorder manifesting with episodic moderate to a severe headache and other symptoms such as photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and vomiting. Triptans and ergot compounds have been used as treatment options for an acute migraine headache for many years. Triptans are considered the first line of treatment in patients with moderate to a severe migr...

Two children developed severe cognitive and behavioral deterioration suggestive of a degenerative disease while being treated with sodium valproate for idiopathic, localization-related epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed marked central and generalized cortical and cerebellar atrophy. In both patients, clinical symptoms and signs cleared in a few weeks follow...

Background: Sodium valproate, an anticonvulsant drug, is reported to stimulate Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 and Human cytomegalovirus replication. Since epileptic patients undergoing sodium valproate therapy may suffer from various virus infections, the effect of this drug on replication of viruses especially those affecting neuronal tissues such as Herpes simplex virus type 1 is worthy ...

Sodium valproate and tomato extract have been studied in different experimental models of epilepsy individually. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of lycopene on the antiepileptic effects of sodium valproate against pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling in mice. Swiss albino mice of either sex were randomly divided into 5 groups, with each group containing 8 mice. These group...

Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is used to treat and prevent eclamptic seizures, and several anticonvulsant drugs (e.g., sodium valproate) are clinically effective antimanic drugs. Psychostimulant-induced hyperlocomotion has been proposed as an animal model for the study of antimanic drugs. The present study evaluated the effects of MgSO4 and sodium valproate (as a positive control) on hyperlocomotio...