title: Valproic acid induced encephalopathy--19 new cases in Germany from 1994 to 2003--a side effect associated to VPA-therapy not only in young children.
abstract: Valproic acid (VPA) is a broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug and is usually well-tolerated. Rare serious complications may occur in some patients, including haemorrhagic pancreatitis, bone marrow suppression, VPA-induced hepatotoxicity and VPA-induced encephalopathy. The typical signs of VPA-induced encephalopathy are impaired consciousness, sometimes marked EEG background slowing, increased seizure frequency, with or without hyperammonemia. There is still no proof of causative effect of VPA in patients with encephalopathy, but only of an association with an assumed causal relation. We report 19 patients with VPA-associated encephalopathy in Germany from the years 1994 to 2003, none of whom had been published previously.
authors.affiliation: University Children's Hospital Mannheim, Neuropediatric Unit, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 69167 Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gerstner
authors.forename: Deike
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buesing
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Longin
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bendl
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scheid
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goetze
authors.forename: Alfons
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macke
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lippert
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Klostermann
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Regine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Augspach-Hofmann
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fitzek
authors.forename: Carl-Albrecht
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Haensch
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reuland
authors.forename: Stephan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Koenig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D022124:Hyperammonemia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D014635:Valproic Acid