Augmentation of Risperidone With Valproic Acid

Sir: The response of psychotic symptoms following the addition of valproate to typical antipsychotic medications has shown conflicting results. The combination of risperidone, lithium, and valproate has been reported to be efficacious in patients with bipolar disorder. We report a patient with schizophrenia for whom the addition of valproic acid to treatment with a typical antipsychotic had no effect on psychotic symptomatology but for whom marked improvement occurred when valproic acid was added to risperidone.