West syndrome due to vitamin B12 deficiency

Abstract

Vitamin B12 is one of the essential vitamins affecting various systems of the body. Vitamin B12 deficiency in infants often produces haematological and neurological deficits including macrocyticanaemia, neurodevelopmental delay or regression, irritability, weakness, hypotonia, ataxia, apathy, tremor andseizures. In this article, we report the case of a six-month-old male patient diagnosed with West syndrome associated with vitamin B12 deficiency. Although the patient had no evidence of macrocytic anemia in complete blood count, we measured the level of vitamin B12 because the patient had hypotonicity and found it to be low. No other problem was found in the other investigations directed to the etiology of West syndrome. He was being exclusively breast-fed and vitamin B12 deficiency was related with nutritional inadequacy of his mother. Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with different neurological findings. In addition, vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered as a rare cause in West syndrome which has a heterogeneous etiology.

Keywords: Vitamin B12; West syndrome; infant.

Figure 1.

Interictal EEG: hypsarrhythmia characterized with burst suppression