Special Diet Can Ease Epileptic Seizures in Kids (HealthDay)

FRIDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- The "ketogenic" diet, whichfeatures high levels of fat, low levels of carbohydrates and controlledprotein intake, helps control and prevent seizures in children withdrug-resistant epilepsy, a new study finds.

The trial is the first randomized controlled study to confirm that theketogenic diet -- widely used since the 1920s -- is effective againstepilepsy, the British researchers said.

Experts believe that the regimen's high fat and restricted carbohydratecontent mimics the biochemical response to starvation, when compoundscalled ketone bodies (rather than sugar) provide the main source of energyfor the brain.

Ketone bodies are byproducts produced when fatty acids are broken downfor energy in the liver and kidneys. They are used as energy sources inthe heart and brain. In the brain, ketone bodies are a crucial source ofenergy when a person fasts.

This University College London study included 145 children, aged 2 to16, who suffered seizures at least once a day or more than seven seizuresper week. These patients hadn't responded to treatment with at least twoepileptic drugs, and hadn't previously been placed on the ketogenicdiet.

Baseline information about the children's seizures was first recorded.Seventy-three of the children started the ketogenic diet immediately,while the other 72 started it after a three-month delay. The delay groupacted as a control group during the study. Complete data was obtained from54 children in the diet group and 49 children in the control group.

The overall number of seizures in the diet group declined by more than38 percent, while seizures in the control group increased by 36.9 percent,the researchers report. The study found that 28 of the 54 children whocompleted three months in the diet group had a greater than 50 percentreduction in seizures, compared to four of 49 children in the controlgroup. Five children in the diet group had more than 90 percent fewerseizures. None of the children in the control group experienced that kindof improvement.

The study appears in the current online edition of The LancetNeurology and will appear in the June print issue.

"We have shown that the diet has efficacy and should be included in themanagement of children who have drug-resistant epilepsy. However, the dietis not without possible side effects, which should be considered alongsidethe risk-benefit of other treatments when planning the management of suchchildren," the study authors wrote.

More information is needed about the long-term effects of the ketogenicdiet, such as changes in blood fat concentrations and ketosis, Dr. MaxWiznitzer, of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, wrotein an accompanying comment article.

"Better identification of epilepsies that benefit from starting earlyon the ketogenic diet and comparisons between the choices of ketogenicdiet are needed," he wrote.

More information

The Epilepsy Foundation has more about the .