Anticonvulsant treatment and mood disorders. A Vitamine B12 key role?

Background Clinical study of the correlation of plasma Vitamin B12 levels and mood disorders in a patient with history of long term treatment with antiepileptic drugs. A female patient with bipolar disorder II, treated in the near past with carbamazepine and sodium valproate, during her stay in our clinic ward mentioned weakness and loss of sensation in both arms, accompanied with a filling of unstable walking and hemodia. After the full neurological clinical evaluation and examination with structural neuroimaging procedures such a CT scan and MRI, our attention was moved to the possible relationship between the reported symptoms with the B12 serum levels. As the levels were 150 pg/ml and our patient’s blood cell values do not reveal megaloblastic anaemia, we started substitute treatment, provided that she had been taking antiepileptic medicine for years and had low toxicity of B12. At following neurological examinations the patient’s clinical icon had improved. Carbamazepine and sodium valproate are widely used as maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Although the alteration of accumulation of B12 in serum is not totally acceptable by scientists, there are indications for the relation between antiepileptic medicine and reduced levels of B12 at least at cerebrospinal fluid folate. Additionally, the combination of any inefficiency with the chronic alcoholism that is often present in this category of mental patients and the rise of life expectancy creates the need of a bigger demanded quantity of B12 in their diet.