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NEUROLOGY 1980;30:1
© 1980 American Academy of Neurology

Sodium valproate

Pharmacokinetics and effectiveness in treating intractable seizures

J. E. Redenbaugh, S. Sato, J. K. Penry, F. E. Dreifuss and H. J. Kupferberg

Department of Neurology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA (Drs. Redenbaugh and Dreifuss), and the Epilepsy Branch, Neurological Disorders Program, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Drs. Sato, Penry, and Kupferberg).

Sodium valproate (VPA) was first marketed in the United States in 1978. In this pilot study of pharmacokinetics and toxicity, VPA was added to the treatment regimens of 20 patients (10 adults and 10 children) with intractable seizures. The drug was absorbed and excreted rapidly; the mean half-life was 9.6 hours. Drowsiness and gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common side effects, but they were usually minor and transient. An increase in some plasma phenobarbital levels and a decrease in some plasma phenytoin levels were attributed to drug interaction. Control of absence attacks was assessed by 12-hour telemetered electroencephalograms. Sodium valproate was most efficacious in generalized seizure disorders, particularly absence seizures.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Sato, Federal Building, Room 114, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20205.

Accepted for publication June 21, 1979.

Presented at the twenty-ninth annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Atlanta, GA, April 1977.






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