Valproate continues to be overvalued in the treatment of acute maniaāand it doesnāt work as well as many assume.
Part of the problem? A single overhyped study, cleverly marketed by the pharmaceutical company, has shaped decades of prescribing habits and continues to be taught to psychiatry residents as gold-standard evidence.
But the data tells a different story.
The BALANCE study (British study of Lithium +/ā Valproate) showed no significant long-term benefit to adding valproate to lithium over a 2-year period in bipolar disorder.
Itās time we stop relying on outdated assumptions and start practicing based on robust, long-term outcomesānot industry narratives.
š Evidence over tradition.
š§ Teach residents the full picture.
š Prescribe with precision.
