Probable Toxic Effect of Sodium Valproate on Retine Using Electroretinogram

The FDA approved drug Sodium Valproate (SV) is an anticonvulsant that is used for epilepsy and bipolar disorders. Also, neuropathic pains and migraine prophylaxis have been the target for SV. Its side effects have been reported in the literature. SV can have side effects on different organs. This report aims to explore the side effects of SV on the retina by using the Electroretinography (ERG) technique.

To understand the side effects of SV, 25 patients who had used SV for more than 3 years were chosen. Flash Electroretinography was performed on these patients, and latency (msec) and amplitude (μV) of ERG of these patients were measured, then mean and standard deviations of these measurements were calculated. 25 non-SV takers were chosen as a control group, and the exact measurements and calculations were obtained. Using SPSS (v13), these findings were compared for any differences.

The mean latencies/S.D. and amplitude s/SD were 90.7 ± 9.39 and 114.94 ± 8.28 in patient and healthy groups, respectively. The difference in amplitude between the two groups was statistically significant, whereas the difference in latency was not statistically significant.

Based on findings of this work, it is evident that the retina is affected in SV consuming patients after three years of usage which will be discussed in full detail.