Effects of adjunct valproic acid on clinical symptoms and saccadic eye movements in schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE
Valproic acid (VPA) has been suggested as a potential adjunct therapy in schizophrenia for the treatment of clinical symptoms and cognitive deficits. Here, we investigate the effects of VPA on clinical symptoms and saccadic eye movements while controlling for multiple medication effects.


METHODS
Remitted and first-episode schizophrenia patients taking haloperidol were given adjunct VPA for approximately 2 weeks and tested using a measure of clinical symptoms (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and saccadic eye movement tasks over three testing periods. The effects of VPA were compared with schizophrenia patients medicated with equivalent doses of haloperidol alone (HAL group) and normal controls.


RESULTS
Schizophrenia patients had higher error rates on the antisaccade task (AS task) compared with normal controls. Adjunct VPA did not affect AS task error rates but was associated with an increase in response times for both saccade and AS tasks, with a significantly greater and dose-dependent increase in response times for the AS task. There were no differences in clinical improvement between VPA and HAL schizophrenia patient groups when controlling for haloperidol medication state.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that adjuvant VPA therapy results in both sensorimotor and cognitive slowing but does not either help or further impair inhibitory control in schizophrenia, as measured by the elevated AS task errors.
Department of Education, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
Abigail L
AL
Larrison
Shelly L
SL
Babin
Yuan
Y
Xing
Saumil S
SS
Patel
Adel A
AA
Wassef
Anne B
AB
Sereno
D000328:Adult; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012438:Saccades / Q000187:drug effects*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
D018692:Antimanic Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D014635:Valproic Acid; D006220:Haloperidol