Study of 100 children with grand mal convulsive disorders and 100 medically healthy children of matching age showed significantly lower plasma levels of vitamin E in the former (means 632.2 +/- 17.3 and 822.5 +/- 21.8 micrograms/dl respectively; p less than 0.001). This finding accords with the ability to prevent seizures in rodents by giving alpha-tocopherol before exposing them to a convulsion-inducing environment.