Contributions of volumetrics of the hippocampus and thalamus to verbal memory in temporal lobe epilepsy patients.

Recent theories have posited that the hippocampus and thalamus serve distinct, yet related, roles in episodic memory. Whereas the hippocampus has been implicated in long-term memory encoding and storage, the thalamus, as a whole, has been implicated in the selection of items for subsequent encoding and the use of retrieval strategies. However, dissociating the memory impairment that occurs following thalamic injury as distinguished from that following hippocampal injury has proven difficult.

Safety of rapid intravenous loading of valproate.

Background: The introduction of IV valproic acid (VPA) has facilitated its use in situations where oral administration is not feasible. The present study was designed to evaluate the safety of administration of undiluted VPA (20 or 30 mg/kg/min) administered intravenously at rates of 6 or 10 mg/kg/min.

Methods: Forty patients received a VPA loading dose (20 or 30 mg/kg) at 6 or 10 mg/kg/min.