Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2009:2009:802121.
doi: 10.1155/2009/802121. Epub 2009 Aug 19.

Valproic Acid-induced hyperammonemia in the elderly: a review of the literature

Affiliations
Case Reports

Valproic Acid-induced hyperammonemia in the elderly: a review of the literature

Vikrant Mittal et al. Case Rep Med. 2009.

Abstract

Valproic acid and its derivatives are commonly used to treat many psychiatric conditions in the elderly. Hyperammonemia is a less common but important side effect of these drugs. The elderly patient appears highly vulnerable to this side effect of this group of medications. In this paper, we systematically review the published literature for hyperammonemia induced by valproic acid and its derivatives. We describe the three reported cases and review possible treatment strategies for this condition.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Wadzinski J, Franks R, Roane D, Bayard M. Valproate-associated hyperammonemic encephalopathy. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2007;20(5):499–502. - PubMed
    1. Coulter DL, Wu H, Allen RJ. Valproic acid therapy in childhood epilepsy. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1980;244(8):785–788. - PubMed
    1. Lennkh C, Simhandl C. Current aspects of valproate in bipolar disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2000;15(1):1–11. - PubMed
    1. Feil D, Chuang K, Sultzer DL. Valproate-induced hyperammonemia as a cause of altered mental status. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2002;10(4):476–478. - PubMed
    1. Hamer HM, Knake S, Schomburg U, Rosenow F. Valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy in the presence of topiramate. Neurology. 2000;54(1):230–232. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources