Vitamin E deficiency and seizures in animals and man.

Study of 100 children with grand mal convulsive disorders and 100 medically healthy children of matching age showed significantly lower plasma levels of vitamin E in the former (means 632.2 +/- 17.3 and 822.5 +/- 21.8 micrograms/dl respectively; p less than 0.001). This finding accords with the ability to prevent seizures in rodents by giving alpha-tocopherol before exposing them to a convulsion-inducing environment.