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Valproic Acid

  • Chapter
Antiepileptic Drugs

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 74))

Abstract

Valproic acid was first synthesized by Burton in 1881. There were no reported investigations into its anticonvulsant properties until 1963, when Meunier et al. noted that several compounds dissolved in valproic acid protected mice and rab-bits from pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures. Valproic acid is the trivial name for 2-propylpentanoic acid (also called n-dipropylacetic acid). As a simple branched-chain carboxylic acid it differs markedly in structure from other antiepileptic drugs.

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  1. W. Löscher
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  1. Laboratorium für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Freie Universität Berlin, Koserstraße 20, D-1000, Berlin 33, Germany

    Hans-Hasso Frey

  2. Abteilung fĂĽr Neurologie, Klinikum Charlottenburg, Spandauer Damm 130, D-1000, Berlin 19, Germany

    Dieter Janz

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Löscher, W. (1985). Valproic Acid. In: Frey, HH., Janz, D. (eds) Antiepileptic Drugs. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 74. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69518-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69518-6_17

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