Mental deterioration in epilepsy due to folate deficiency.

Folate deficiency in 50 epileptic children aged 5 to 18 years was treated with a combination of folic acid and vitamin B(12). Improvement in mental condition occurred from five to eight weeks after beginning treatment in some of the younger children; no change was noticed, however, in 31. Similarly, in 19 children fits became less frequent and less severe. It is recommended that both folic acid and vitamin B(12) should be given as soon as a patient is started on anticonvulsant drugs to prevent mental deterioration.