Rev Invest Clin
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
[Decrease of folic acid and cognitive alterations in patients with epilepsy treated with phenytoin or carbamazepine, pilot study].
Phenytoin and carbamazepine were the antiepileptic drugs most frequently used in Mexico and throughout the world. Epileptic patients who take these drugs have a variety of collateral effects including the decrease of folates plasmatic level. Low seric folic acid concentration has been associated with a decline in cognitive functions. The administration of a combined treatment with folic acid could ameliorate these difficulties. ⋯ Treatment with folic acid is safe and without side effects, it improved the cognitive function in patients with epilepsy treated with phenytoin and carbamazepine.