Depakote

A medicine for bipolar disorder and a series of crimes, both according to the drug maker.

The Frontier Psychiatrists is this newsletter. Owen Muir, M.D. writes it, and it is a satirical take, personal, or both, on health-related issues of the day.

Owen Muir, M.D., and Carlene MacMillan, M.D., with Kunal and Avi from Spruce Health, a company we love—also pictured Spruce socks. December 19, 2018.

Dr. Muir is a child and adult psychiatrist. This “medication guides” series is more about storytelling than a straight prescribing guide. I try to include the stale facts supporting my very stated opinions. I hope you enjoy this piece. If you do, consider sharing.

As a brief programming note, it's worth noting that in addition to this newsletter, the top bar includes books, music, podcasts, video, and academic work. I crank out a lot of content.

The American chemist Beverly S. Burton described the synthesis of valproic acid in 1882¹, and It was thought to be pharmacologically inert until 1963². Depakote (divalproex sodium) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of epilepsy in 19…