Efficacy of Valproic Acid Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection or Severity: A Pilot Study

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of the current study was to investigate whether taking valproic acid (VPA) was protective against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection or severity in patients with epilepsy.MethodsThis was a questionnaire study of 150 people who were taking VPA in monotherapy or polytherapy (since the start of the pandemic or longer) and also 150 people who were not taking VPA (since the start of the pandemic), registered in our epilepsy database. The data compared rates of the seropositivity and severity of infection of COVID-19 between the 2 groups. The latter was assessed, by proxy, vis-à-vis rates of hospital admission and intensive care unit admission.ResultsTwo hundred forty-one patients were studied, including 130 (53.9%) male and 111 (46.1%) female patients. The mean age of the patients was 30.7 ± 11.4 years. The infection rate and severity of COVID-19 did not significantly differ among patients who were taking VPA and those who were not taking VPA (P = 0.587) and (P = 0.648), respectively.ConclusionsIn this pilot study, no support was found for the hypothesis of a protective effect of VPA against the infectivity rate of COVID-19. Neither was there any indication of a disease-modulating effect of VPA in people with active COVID-19 infection. Larger, randomized controlled trials would be warranted to substantiate our conclusion.

Sodium Valproate Use in Japanese Patients with Schizophrenia and Coronavirus Disease Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Pneumonia

“…Although excessive immune responses may also be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia [ 27 , 28 ], it is not known exactly how the immunosuppressive function of VPA affects schizophrenic patients during COVID-19 infection. On the other hand, a pilot study involving 241 epilepsy patients aimed at determining whether VPA had a preventive effect against COVID-19 infection or severe disease did not support the hypothesis of a preventive effect [ 29 ].…”

3P's (Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Pharmacogenomic) of Valproate: What's New?

“…As VPA has been shown to be beneficial in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), it is thought that the same effect could be achieved in COVID -19 patients, as these patients have excessive release of proinflammatory cytokines in the respiratory system (40). Studies later observed that VPA have positive roles in COVID-19 infection (41,42,43).…”