Brain from mood stabilizers

Of as yet unknown consequence to the brain and nervous system, there are many studies indicating that valproic acid promotes a variety of potentially dangerous viruses (e.g., Fan et al., 2005). Both valproic acid and carbamazepine cause a small increase in the rate of major congenital malformations in infants (Wide et al., 2004). Acute and potentially fatal pancreatitis has been reported with valproic acid (e.g., Grauso-Eby et al., 2003). Liver failure is a known problem as well. Valproic acid is known to cause hyperammonemia with encephalopathy (e.g., McCall et al., 2004). Severe and even lethal skin disorders can occur with all of the antiseizure medications now used as mood stabilizers. The various adverse effects of valproic acid and other mood stabilizers are not nearly as benign as physicians believe in their eagerness to switch patients from lithium. 

The role that dopamine plays in regulating mood and emotional stability can be at least partially grasped by examining dopamine s role in schizophrenia and drug addiction. Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, withdrawal from external reality, and emotional unresponsiveness. The dopamine theory of schizophrenia, proposed in 1965, attributes the disorder to elevated brain concentrations of dopamine or to a hypersensitivity of dopaminergic receptors, especially the D2 and D4 receptor subtypes. Several drugs used to treat schizophrenic patients bind to D2 and D4 receptors and block the dopaminergic response. 

Vitamins and minerals are the mildest supplements 1 recommend in this chapter, and the only ones you can take without consulting with a physician (though I always advise informing your doctor about what you re doing). As we saw in Chapter 4, your brain needs vitamins and minerals to process serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and beta-endorphins, and so to stabilize your mood and energy. Ideally, we d get all the vitamins and minerals we need from the food we eat, but often we simply don t. 

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