[Complications in the central nervous system in the treatment of epileptics with hydantoins (author's transl)].

Undesirable and usually reversible side effects in the treatment of convulsive diseases with preparations containing hydantoin most frequently arise as cerebellar atactic syndromes and more seldom in extrapyramidal hyperkinesias, parkinsonisms, manifold "encephalitic" forms, hemiplegias and abnormalities in the EEG, among others. The differential diagnosis of the reversible psychopathological and the rare irreversible (defect) syndromes is often difficult. The problems of correlation between psychoses arising from epilepsy and electroencephalographic parameters are pointed out and it is emphasized that the relation between the frequency of a convincing therapeutic effect and the frequency of manifestation of threatening intolerances remains relatively favorable for the hydantoins.