Valproic Acid Sodium Salt in Bipolar Disorder

Sanofi

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 4

Conditions

Bipolar Disorder

Treatments

Drug: Valproic acid, sodium salt

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Industry

Identifiers

L_9387

Details and patient eligibility

About

To determine the total and local gray matter volumes, and N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) levels in patients with bipolar disorders who are within euthimic, depressive or manic/hypomanic period and who are not taking drug;
To investigate the neuroprotective effects of long-term (6 weeks) use of valproate on total and local gray matter volumes and NAA levels.
To measure the brain electrical response to visual and auditory impulses before and after valproate treatment in patients within euthimic, depressive or manic/hypomanic period and who are not taking drug, and to compare the data with each other and with normal groups.
To determine the cognitive functions before and after the valproate treatment in the same patient group, to compare the data with each other and with age- and sex-paired normal controls;
To determine the relationship between these effects of valproate and clinical improvement;
To investigate the relationship between cognitive ability status and electrical activity of brain, to compare this with that in control group; to determine the relationship between the data and brain imaging (MRI/MRS) findings in conjunction with localization

Enrollment

58 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

diagnosis of type I or II bipolar disorder according to DSM-IV after stratified SCID I interview,
being currently euthimic (for at least one month), manic-hypomanic and having YMRS points of 15 or more, or being in depressive episode and having HAM-D21 points of 15 or more
being not taking drugs for at least two weeks before participating in the study (except benzodiazepins)

Exclusion criteria

female who are pregnant or planning to be pregnant, nursing
having known hypersensitivity to study drug
being given any psychotropic agent other than benzodiazepine within the last two weeks
active sustance or alcohol usage within the last two weeks, or substance addiction other than cafein or nicotine (within the last month)
having another axis I disorder such as comorbid dementia, delirium, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorder
having unstabilised hepatic or renal disorder, thyroid or blood disease
having history of cerebral surgery
existence of a degenerative neurologic disease or epilepsy
having pacemaker
having a prosthesis able to magnetic effect in eye, brain or sites near to these regions
homicide thougths or severe catatonia required to be hospitalized
having mixed episode