Inter‐relations of Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 in Drug‐treated Epileptic Patients

During treatment with folic acid, 15 mg daily for 2 years, serum vitamin B12 levels fell in 24 out of 30 epileptic patients treated with anticonvulsant drugs. The most rapid fall occurred in the first 3 months of folate therapy, from a mean of 360 pg/ml to 221 pg/ml, but it continued more slowly for up to 15 months, or longer in some. In 10 of 11 patients in whom folic acid therapy was stopped but anticonvulsant therapy continued; serum folate levels subsequently fell to subnormal values within 18 months.

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