While the benefit of the ketogenic diet in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) has been known for over a century, only recently have studies been published looking at its use in adolescents and adults with DRE.
Low carb and childhood epilepsy
The ketogenic diet (KD) has been used to treat epilepsy in children since 1921. The original protocol using a high fat, low carbohydrate diet was created at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA (Wilder, 1921), and popularized by the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD (Freeman et al.,1998). It is now used in the management of drug-resistant childhood epilepsy in all the leading childrens’ hospitals throughout the world.
Wilder RM. (1921) The effect of ketonemia on the course of epilepsy. Mayo Clin Bulletin 2:307–308.
In December 2006, The Charlie Foundation commissioned a panel comprised of 26 pediatric epileptologists and dietitians from nine countries with particular expertise using the KD. This group was created in order to create a consensus statement regarding the clinical management of the KD. Subsequently endorsed by the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society, this resultant manuscript addresses issues such as patient selection, pre-KD counseling and evaluation, specific dietary therapy selection, implementation, supplementation, follow-up management, adverse event monitoring, and eventual KD discontinuation.
This study was subsequently updated in 2018.
Goswami and Sharma wrote in 2019 “Ketogenic diet (KD) is a time-tested therapeutic modality for refractory epilepsy, which has re-emerged as a robust alternative to anti-epileptic pharmacotherapy. There is a growing body of evidence which supports the anti-seizure efficacy, safety profile and feasibility of KD use in childhood epilepsy.”
Two meta-analyses were published in 2020. Soubron et al concluded that “Despite the heterogeneity between all studies, the beneficial results underline that dietary interventions should be considered for children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy who are not eligible for epilepsy surgery.” Lyons et al concluded that “Ketogenic diet therapy is an effective treatment option for infants with drug-resistant epilepsy.”
Further references
- Liu XY, Chen J, Zhu M, et al. Three and Six Months of Ketogenic Diet for Intractable Childhood Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Neurol. 2019;10:244. doi:10.3389/fneur.2019.00244
- Cai Q-Y, Zhou Z-J, Luo R, et al. Safety and tolerability of the ketogenic diet used for the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsy: a systematic review of published prospective studies. World J Pediatr. 2017;13(6):528-536. doi:10.1007/s12519-017-0053-2
- Kim SH, Shaw A, Blackford R, et al. The ketogenic diet in children 3 years of age or younger: A 10-year single-center experience. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1):8736. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45147-6
- Luz IR, Pereira C, Garcia P, et al. Ketogenic Diet for Refractory Childhood Epilepsy: Beyond Seizures Control, the Experience of a Portuguese Pediatric Centre. Acta Médica Portuguesa. 2019;32(12):760-766. doi:10.20344/amp.12184 PDF
- Le Pichon JB, Thompson L, Gustafson M, Abdelmoity A. Initiating the ketogenic diet in infants with treatment refractory epilepsy while maintaining a breast milk diet. Seizure. 2019;69:41-43. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2019.03.017
- Dressler A, Trimmel-Schwahofer P. The ketogenic diet for infants: How long can you go? Epilepsy Res. 2020;164:106339. doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2020.106339 ABSTRACT
- Wirrell E, Eckert S, Wong-Kisiel L, Payne E, Nickels K. Ketogenic Diet Therapy in Infants: Efficacy and Tolerability. Pediatr Neurol. 2018;82:13-18. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2017.10.018
- Sharma S, Goel S, Kapoor D, et al. Evaluation of the Modified Atkins Diet for the Treatment of Epileptic Spasms Refractory to Hormonal Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Child Neurol. Published online April 9, 2021:8830738211004747. doi:10.1177/08830738211004747
- Zhang J, Chen G, Wang J, et al. Efficacy of the ketogenic diet on ACTH- or corticosteroid-resistant infantile spasm: a multicentre prospective control study. Epileptic Disord. Published online March 26, 2021. doi:10.1684/epd.2021.1256
- Lin K-L, Lin J-J, Wang H-S. Application of ketogenic diets for pediatric neurocritical care. Biomedical Journal. Published online July 5, 2020. doi:10.1016/j.bj.2020.02.002
- Singh RK, Joshi SM, Potter DM, Leber SM, Carlson MD, Shellhaas RA. Cognitive outcomes in febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome treated with the ketogenic diet. Pediatrics. 2014;134(5):e1431-1435. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-3106
- García-Peñas JJ. S.L.U 2021 Viguera Editores. Epilepsy, cognition, and the ketogenic diet: Neurología.com. doi:10.33588/rn.66S01.2017529
