Valproate sodium by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Benefit and side effects of valproate sodium

Valproate sodium is a prescription medication anticonvulsant used to control certain types of in the treatment of epilepsy. Valproate sodium may be used alone or with other seizure medicine. Valproate is also prescribed by some doctors as a mood stabilizing agent.

Valproate sodium products
Name brand products for valproate sodium include Depakene  made by Abbott Laboratories and Convulex by Pfizer in the UK.
 

Valporate and Pregnancy

Roughly 20 percent of epileptic women who take the antiseizure drug valproate during pregnancy will have a fetus with a serious adverse outcome, almost twice the rate associated with phenytoin, the next most problematic antiepileptic drug. The rate of serious adverse outcomes, which includes congential malformation and fetal death, is 20 percent for valproate, 10 percent for phenytoin, 8 percent for carbamazepine, and 1 percent for lamotrigine. Several years ago, the American Academy of Neurology and other groups issued guidelines for treating epileptic women during pregnancy. Since antiepileptic drugs, in general, have been linked to adverse fetal outcomes, the strategy was to optimize treatment before conception, using a single antiepileptic drug if possible, at the lowest effective dose. These guidelines did not, however, differentiate between the various drugs for their potential to cause birth defects. Valproate use is associated with congenital malformations, including skull deformities, heart structural abnormalities, kidney swelling due to backup of urine; and cleft palate, a birth defect in which the mouth or lip tissues don't properly form during development; and several others. Neurology, August 8, 2006.