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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.
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