Sodium valproate monotherapy in childhood epilepsy.

154 patients with a mean age of 6 years 1 month were followed on valproate monotherapy for a period ranging from 5 to 27 months (mean 22 months). Absence epilepsies, benign myoclonic epilepsies and epilepsies with tonic-clonic seizures on awakening were the best controlled, followed by benign partial epilepsies and infantile spasms. Reduction to monotherapy resulted in improvement in 13 of 14 patients with primary generalized epilepsy. Sixteen per cent of the 154 patients suffered mild to moderate adverse effects. After cessation of treatment in 28 seizure-free patients, no recurrence was observed in absence epilepsy, benign myoclonic epilepsy, infantile spasms or benign partial epilepsy, whereas two thirds of the patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures on awakening relapsed in the year following the cessation of the treatment.