Seizures during treatment of Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency

Summary 

Epileptic seizures during infancy have a wide variety of clinical presentations and the outcome differs according to the etiology. Among the benign and rare causes of infantile seizures, Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency has been encountered. Common symptoms of Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency in infants include megaloblastic anemia, feeding difficulties, developmental delay, microcephaly, failure to thrive, hypotonia, lethargy, irritability, involuntary movements, seizures and cerebral atrophy. Involuntary movements and seizures may rarely be the initial symptoms of Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency. Involuntary movements have also been reported to appear after initiation of Vitamin B₁₂ supplementation in isolated cases, whereas, no such information exits for seizures. In this paper, three infants with Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency associated with motor and mental retardation are reported because of long-lasting focal/multifocal epileptic seizures following the initiation of intramuscular Vitamin B₁₂ treatment. Antiepileptics were introduced in addition to Vitamin B_12. Seizures disappeared within a few days or weeks; electroencephalographic findings were normalized in a few months. No relapses occurred during the follow-up period.

Keywords: Seizures, Vitamin B₁₂ treatment