Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30829012›Full record

ArticleJournal of Zhejiang University. Science. B

Valproic acid withdrawal ameliorates impairments of hippocampal-spatial working memory and neurogenesis.

Wanassanun Pannangrong, Apiwat Sirichoat, Trai Wongsiri, Peter Wigmore, Jariya Umka Welbat

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 44% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Beyond epilepsy: The expanding role of valproic acid in Alzheimer disease therapy - a review.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025
    Review
  3. Therapeutic modulation of neurogenesis to improve hippocampal plasticity and cognition in aging and Alzheimer's disease.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Brain Neuroplasticity after Treatment with Antiseizure: A Review.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Review
  8. Peripheral nerve injury in patients exposed toJournal of Zhejiang University. Science. B · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Wanassanun PannangrongDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Apiwat SirichoatDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Trai WongsiriDepartment of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Peter WigmoreSchool of Life Sciences, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK.
Jariya Umka WelbatDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Khon Kaen University · THQueen's Medical Centre · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Valproic acid (VPA), an agent that is used to treat epileptic seizures, can cause spatial memory impairment in adults and children. This effect is thought to be due to the ability of VPA to inhibit neurogenesis in the hippocampus, which is required for learning. We have previously used an animal model to show that VPA significantly impairs hippocampal-spatial working memory and inhibits neuronal generation in the sub-granular zone of the dentate gyrus. As there are patient reports of improvements in memory after discontinuing VPA treatment, the present study investigated the recovery of both spatial memory and hippocampal neurogenesis at two time points after withdrawal of VPA. Male Wistar rats were given intraperitoneal injections of 0.9% normal saline or VPA (300 mg/kg) twice a day for 10 d. At 1, 30, or 45 d after the drug treatment, the novel object location (NOL) test was used to examine spatial memory; hippocampal cell division was counted using Ki67 immunohistochemistry, and levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Notch1 were measured using western immunoblotting. Spatial working memory was impaired 1 and 30 d after the final administration, but was restored to control levels by 45 d. Cell proliferation had increased to control levels at 30 and 45 d. Both markers of neurogenesis (BDNF and Notch1 levels) had returned to control levels at 45 d. These results demonstrate that memory recovery occurs over a period of six weeks after discontinuing VPA treatment and is preceded by a return of hippocampal neurogenesis to control levels.

Indexed as

AnimalsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCell ProliferationCognitionDentate GyrusEnzyme InhibitorsHippocampusImmunohistochemistryMaleMemory DisordersMemory, Short-TermNeurogenesisNeuronsRatsRats, WistarReceptor, Notch1Bdnf protein, ratBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorEnzyme InhibitorsNotch1 protein, ratReceptor, Notch1Valproic AcidHippocampus; Neurogenesis; Spatial memory; Valproic acid

Identifiers

PMID30829012
PMCPMC6421120
OpenAlexW2918353882

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.