Primum Non Nocere: A Case of Valproate Encephalopathy

Valproic acid (VPA) is a traditional antiepileptic which is used in the treatment of some types of epileptic seizures. Encephalopathy is a side effect of VPA which leads to rare but serious results and hyperammoniemia may be accompanied by one of these statements. It is specified that asymptomatic hyperammoniemia which VPA revealed is 20% and the incidence of symptomatic hyperammoniemia is 5%. The reason why VPA induced hyperammoniemia pathogenesis is not fully understood. In this article we present a 60-year-old male patient who was diagnosed VPA induced encephalopathy. The case presented is the first in the literature, in that, the patient previously taking valproate and whose encephalopathy unmonitored, valproate has been used after repeated seizures; and, after that encephalopathy has emerged.