Talk:Valproic acid

Acid and sodium salt

First, I'd like to find a better source on the indications for use of valproic acid versus valproate sodium. My clinical experience, however, is much more with the use in mood disorders and neurogenic pain than for convulsive disorders, and when I've asked some of the physicians prescribing why the salt and not the acid, I've never gotten an especially clear answer.

Second, raises a general question for pharmacology articles. What range of relatively small molecular variants should be under the same article? Some variants seem simply for manufacturing or marketing, while others actually do affect bioavailability.

In turn, this leads to the question of when it is best to address, as a family, therapeutic agents where there may be both prodrug and active metabolite preparations. This may be more of a Forum question, but I thought I would start here. Howard C. Berkowitz 12:08, 29 June 2008 (CDT)