Valproic Acid News and Research

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Valproic Acid is a drug used to treat epileptic seizures and bipolar disorder and to prevent migraine headaches. It is also being studied in the treatment of Kaposi sarcoma. It is a type of anticonvulsant, antimaniacal, and migraine headache prophylactic.

Cerebellar structural changes influence social behavior in autism

Researchers at Kanazawa University have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which structural changes in the cerebellum influence social behavior.

12 Jun 2026

Autism risk rises with multiple medications taken during pregnancy

A study links maternal use of cholesterol-inhibiting medications during pregnancy to increased autism risk in children, urging caution in prescribing practices.

22 Apr 2026

MEA-driven graph modeling identifies early connectivity changes linked to autism

Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) provide a noninvasive interface with sub-millisecond temporal resolution and long-term, multi-site recordings, enabling mechanistic investigations of in vitro human brain development and disease-related dysfunction; nevertheless, conventional MEA pipelines largely rely on firing/burst statistics or channel-/waveform-level features, which can be insufficient to systematically characterize and interpret network-level organization and its subtle pathological deviations.

16 Dec 2025

Understanding the multifactorial causes of spina bifida

Spina bifida is among the most common and debilitating neural tube defects, affecting approximately 1 in every 2,875 newborns in the United States.

11 Aug 2025

Study finds continued use of risky antiseizure drugs during pregnancy

Despite evidence of the risk of malformations at birth, or birth defects, use of some antiseizure drugs during pregnancy has persisted, according to a study published on July 23, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Jul 2025

IVF and ICSI pregnancies show higher exposure to teratogenic medicines

A new Australian study has revealed a potential reason why some pregnancies achieved through assisted reproductive technology (ART) may result in birth defects in comparison to naturally conceived pregnancies.

15 Jan 2025

Ketogenic diet linked to gut microbes and seizure reduction in epileptic children

The ketogenic diet's anti-seizure effects in children may be influenced by gut bacteria and metabolites, highlighting their role in epilepsy treatment.

7 Nov 2024

Curcumin compound reactivates Epstein–Barr virus, offering safer cancer therapy

A novel curcumin derivative, C210, activates the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) lytic cycle without producing infectious virions by disrupting HSP90. This discovery opens avenues for safer EBV-positive cancer therapies.

5 Nov 2024

Organoids offer new hope for safer epilepsy treatment in pregnant women

University of Queensland researchers have made a significant step towards enabling women with epilepsy safer access to a common and highly effective anti-seizure medication.

30 Sep 2024

Valproic acid shows promise in reducing COVID-19 severity and hospitalization

Researchers found that valproic acid (VPA), especially when combined with DHA, significantly reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and severity, potentially activating antiviral mechanisms. Epidemiologic data support VPA's role in reducing COVID-19 severity and hospitalization rates.

6 Aug 2024

Advanced technology and AI used to diagnose rare diseases and birth abnormalities

Researchers at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and Lawson Health Research Institute are using advanced technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose rare diseases and prenatal exposure-related birth abnormalities in two studies published today in American Journal of Human Genetics and Genetics in Medicine.

31 Jul 2024

New guideline issued for antiseizure medication use in pregnant epilepsy patients

A new guideline has been issued to help neurologists and other clinicians determine the best antiseizure medications for people with epilepsy who may become pregnant.

16 May 2024

Eternal youth? Chemical cocktails prove effective in cell age reversal

Researchers identified chemical drug combinations that could reverse cellular aging.

19 Jul 2023

New strategies to beat rare tumors of the adrenal gland

Only one in 100,000 people suffer from a pheochromocytoma, a tumor of the adrenal gland. If the tumor has already metastasized, a radioactive compound can be used to detect malignant cells that have spread to other parts of the body, and to irradiate them from the inside.

9 Feb 2023

UC San Francisco neurologists focus on the hazards of abortion restrictions for women of reproductive age

UCSF Perspective Article Says New Ruling May Result in Increased Risk of Deaths, Disability.

14 Jul 2022

Taking valproic acid during pregnancy can cause birth defects, study shows

Valproic acid - a drug used to treat epilepsy, migraine, and bipolar disorder - can cause birth defects when taken during pregnancy.

14 Jun 2022

Direct differentiation of progenitor stem-like cells into mesenchymal stem, and osteogenic cells

Epithelial cell rests of Malassez derived from the periodontal ligament were transformed into progenitor stem-like cells by stimulation with epigenetic agents.

22 Mar 2021

Study: Decreased activation of LEF1 gene disrupts ordinary neuronal function

Lithium is considered the gold standard for treating bipolar disorder (BD), but nearly 70 percent of people with BD don't respond to it.

5 Jan 2021

Antiseizure drug use during pregnancy linked with double the risk of having children with autism

Women with epilepsy who take the antiseizure drug valproic acid while pregnant are at more than double the risk of having children with autism spectrum disorder and nearly double the risk of having children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study in the October 28, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Oct 2020

Transcriptomics identifies possible COVID-19 therapies

By using a diverse set of transcriptomic SARS-CoV-2 signatures, US researchers put to use their previously developed drug repositioning pipeline to pinpoint potential drug candidates for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The study is currently available on bioRxiv preprint server.

26 Oct 2020