Stuporous state in an epileptic treated with sodium valproate. Diagnostic problems

: The authors report a case of stupor secondary to valproic acid, in a patient treated with this drug and phenobarbital for a complex partial form of epilepsy. The pathogeny of this rare complication is discussed. In this patient, a paradoxical epileptic reactivation is excluded, and the authors favor a metabolic mechanism: either hyperammoniemia or a perturbation in cerebral neuro-transmitter systems are proposed.