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Psychopharmacology Bulletin › All Volumes & Issues › VOL 37 Supplement No. 2
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY BULLETIN

VOL 37 Supplement No. 2

Articles in This Issue

The History of Valproate in Clinical Neuroscience

Thomas R. Henry, MD
The scientific and medical history of valproic acid is relatively long, compared with other frequently used psychopharmacologic agents. Valproic acid was used as an organic solvent in research laboratories for eight decades, until the fortuitous...
Pages 5-16 Read Article

Pharmacology of Valproate

Michael J. Owens, PhD, and Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD
Valproate has been in clinical use for nearly 40 years for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses, including bipolar disorder and epilepsy. Early reports linked its biochemical mechanism of action to alterations in...
Pages 15-24 Read Article

Divalproex and Epilepsy

L. James Willmore, MD
Valproic acid, a branched chain carboxylic acid, has a broad spectrum of action as an antiepilepsy drug. While effective in myoclonus syndromes and absence epilepsy, the drug has efficacy for patients with generalized convulsive and...
Pages 43-53 Read Article

The Efficacy of Divalproex for Partial Epilepsies

Michael C. Smith, MD
Valproic acid has clear efficacy in the treatment of partial epilepsies. Its multiple mechanisms predicted its broad spectrum of efficacy and preclinical experimental data prompted its clinical use. Valproic acid’s efficacy has been repeatedly demonstrated...
Pages 54-66 Read Article

Divalproex in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Paul E. Keck, Jr., MD, and Susan L. McElroy, MD
Valproate is commonly used as a first-line agent for the treatment of acute bipolar I mania. Its efficacy in the treatment of acute mania has been established in randomized, controlled trials versus placebo, lithium, haloperidol,...
Pages 67-72 Read Article

Schizophrenia and Valproate

By Leslie Citrome, MD, MPH
Valproate (the active moiety of both valproic acid and divalproex sodium) is commonly used as an adjunctive agent for the treatment of schizophrenia. Among the anticonvulsants, valproate is the most extensively studied in patients with...
Pages 74-88 Read Article

Divalproex in the Treatment of Migraine

Frederick G. Freitag, DO
Valproic acid has been used in the treatment of migraine headache for nearly 20 years. During this period of use several additional delivery modes have been developed to either improve tolerability or patient compliance with...
Pages 98-114 Read Article