Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35879038›Full record

ArticleClinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology2022

Blood Levels of Ammonia and Carnitine in Patients Treated with Valproic Acid: A Meta-analysis.

Saaya Yokoyama, Norio Sugawara, Kazushi Maruo, Norio Yasui-Furukori, Kazutaka Shimoda

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. L-carnitine for valproic acid-induced toxicity.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025
    Review
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 1 country.

Saaya YokoyamaDepartment of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9077-9382
Norio SugawaraDepartment of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7058-664X
Kazushi MaruoFaculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-0386
Norio Yasui-FurukoriDepartment of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4414-3770
Kazutaka ShimodaDepartment of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9663-6243
Dokkyo Medical University · JPUniversity of Tsukuba · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Long-term valproic acid (VPA) administration is associated with adverse metabolic effects, including hyperammonemia and hypocarnitinemia. However, the pathogeneses of these adverse events remain unclear, and not enough reviews have been performed. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of studies examining blood levels of ammonia and carnitine in patients treated with VPA. Methods: We conducted database searches (PubMed, Web of Science) to identify studies examining blood levels of ammonia and carnitine in patients treated with VPA. A meta-analysis was performed to conduct pre- and post-VPA treatment comparisons, cross-sectional comparisons between groups with and without VPA use, and estimations of the standardized correlations between blood levels of ammonia, carnitine, and VPA. Results: According to the cross-sectional comparisons, the blood ammonia level in the VPA group was significantly higher than that in the non-VPA group. Compared to that in the non-VPA group, the blood carnitine level in the VPA group was significantly lower. In the meta-analysis of correlation coefficients, the blood VPA level was moderately correlated with blood ammonia and blood free carnitine levels in the random effects model. Furthermore, the blood ammonia level was moderately correlated with the blood free carnitine level. Conclusion: Although the correlation between ammonia and free carnitine levels in blood was significant, the moderate strength of the correlation does not allow clinicians to infer free carnitine levels from the results of ammonia levels. Clinicians should measure both blood ammonia and free carnitine levels, especially in patients receiving high dosages of VPA.

Indexed as

AcylcarnitineAmmoniaBipolar disorderFree carnitineValproic acid

Identifiers

PMID35879038
PMCPMC9329117
OpenAlexW4287831414

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.