How the ketogenic diet treats epilepsy

  After expert research and analysis, we found that ketogenic diet therapy is really effective in treating refractory epilepsy, but this therapy is not suitable for every patient, so let’s understand the advantages of ketogenic diet therapy.  The ketogenic diet refers to eating more fatty foods and reducing protein and carbohydrate intake to achieve seizure control. However, ketogenic diet therapy needs to be carried out strictly under the guidance of a professional doctor, and patients must be cautious when there are certain adverse reactions. Epilepsy is a chronic disease, and because of its unpredictability of seizures and frequent seizures, the brain damage that may be caused has a great impact on the lives of patients.  Refractory epilepsy has always been a headache for patients and even doctors, because patients who use two drugs according to the treatment norms still cannot control their epilepsy, and the chances of trying other new drugs that can effectively control their seizures are only 15-20%. In this case, patients may consider ketogenic diet therapy for seizure control.  In normal metabolism, carbohydrates are the brain’s preferred source of energy. When epilepsy patients are treated with a ketogenic diet, they have high levels of fat and few carbohydrates, and the brain uses the ketone bodies produced by fat burning as its main source of energy, which have a sedative effect. is still unclear.  Generally speaking, doctors do not recommend that patients with new epilepsy start with a ketogenic diet, because most seizures can be controlled with only one or two drugs with few side effects, which is simpler and easier than using a ketogenic diet. At this time, the best age to receive the ketogenic diet is usually between 1 and 10 years of age because of the better outcome in children, but this does not preclude the trial of patients of other ages.  One study showed that at 1 year of ketogenic diet treatment, 7% were seizure-free, 20% had more than 90% reduction in seizures, and 50% of patients had more than 50% reduction in seizures. In addition, in some children with epilepsy, although there is no improvement in seizures, the number of antiepileptic drugs can be reduced and the cognitive function and motor behavior of the child can be improved.  Most scholars believe that the ketogenic diet is suitable for the following conditions: 1, regular application of two or more antiepileptic drugs still can not control seizures or serious adverse drug reactions; 2, suffering from infantile spasms, Dravet syndrome, LGS with drop seizures, Doose syndrome, etc. 3, suffering from tuberous sclerosis, cerebral cleft malformation, anencephaly, or other congenital malformations of the brain with seizures.  4. The child has very low intelligence or is bottle-fed at a very young age. In such cases, the ketogenic diet may be easier to use and more effective than drugs.  5. The child’s family members fully understand, support and are capable of working with the physician and dietitian to complete the ketogenic diet meal preparation and various monitoring programs.  In conclusion, the ketogenic diet should not be misled by the term “diet therapy”. It is a treatment method for refractory epilepsy that requires close cooperation between the physician, dietitian and parents, and should be done in a professional epilepsy center, with indications and contraindications, screening of appropriate cases, and close follow-up and observation.