Sodium valproate: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic efficacy in epilepsy.

Sodium valproate has a broad spectrum of anticonvulsant activity, but is structurally unrelated to conventional antiepileptic drugs. Its proposed mode of action is mediated through effects on the function of brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). However, the elevations in brain and cerebellar GABA, and the concomitant reductions in levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, occur in animals at dose levels which are unlikely to be achieved during treatment of epileptic patients.