The roles of vitamin B12 and vitamin D in children with intractable epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can cause vitamin B12 or D deficiency in children with intractable epilepsy. In this study, we measured salivary superoxide dismutase (SOD) and metalloproteinsases (MMP) levels in the patients with vitamin B12 and vitamin D treatment. Cytokines and chemokines were measured using ELISA. The mean salivary value of SOD activity in the control group was 1.75 ± 0.21 U/ml. In the treatment group, the value was 1.33 ± 0.18 U/ml. The salivary MMP 2, MMP 3, and MMP 9 levels of the patients with vitamin D and vitamin B12 treatment were lower than that in the patients without vitamin D and vitamin B12 treatment. Interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein 1β (MIP-1β), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and IFN-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) were significantly decreased in the cortex of our patients with vitamin D and vitamin B12 treatment. In this study, a clear association between vitamin D and vitamin B12 treatment and epilepsy was identified. We now plan to investigate the genetic factors that underlie vitamin D and vitamin B12 treatment in patients treated with AEDs.