Atkins diet may curb epilepsy

The Guardian (U.K.) ^ | 12/10/03 | Tim Radford

[Pokey78]

The Atkins diet - not always seen as a healthy way to shed weight - may help to prevent fits in children with epilepsy, a team of US scientists says. Six patients, including three children aged up to 12, kept to the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and were studied by researchers from Johns Hopkins children's centre in Baltimore. They remained seizure-free for between four and 20 months and were able to take lower doses of medication.

Because the study involved only six people, the research should be treated with caution and the Atkins diet should not be used to replace the rigorous ketogenic diet that can reduce seizures.

"Our report raises new questions about the ideal level of calorie and protein restriction imposed by ketogenic diet," Eric Kossoff, of the children's centre, told a meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Boston.

"By learning more about how the Atkins diet works to control seizures, we should learn more about which patients may benefit best from either of these diets."

The two diets have elements in common: high fats and low carbohydrates that alter the body's glucose chemistry. The scientists have now enrolled a group of 20 children with epilepsy to study.

[lelio]

What's old is new again. Low carb / low food intake in general was a known way to stop or curb eplitic seizures decades ago. Here's a brief writeup:

First developed in the early 1900s, and successfully used for the treatment of seizures in children during the 20s and 30s, the ketogenic diet was then gradually forgotten as new anticonvulsant medications were developed.

[Born Conservative]

Variation on a theme: neurologists used to place some children with seizures on a "ketogenic diet" to control seizures, which essentially was very few carbs, but lots of fats and proteins. I'm not sure whether it is still done, and I never really heard any statistics as to it's effectiveness.

[ovrtaxt]

They remained seizure-free for between four and 20 months and were able to take lower doses of medication.

It's true! I've been on the atkins diet for months, and I haven't had a seizu laksngfvwejrngaodsfivnadsoivadsovfnad/lskvd/lkbnsd/lkbnsd/lzkbnds/lkbnds/lkbnsd/lkbnc/bncxzvbncxz/kbndlifjgadfbndfbndkbhdkibjdlbm.bmad;kgjadsoga';v,Z:Lmd;ojgkeodf;dlfmldfmbs;dlfb Ig, excuse me..

[Born Conservative]

You beat me to it; however, great minds think alike!

As for the ketogenic diet, I worked as an RN on a peds unit in the late '80's/early '90's, and they were using this therapy then.

[lelio]

Here's some stats on epilesy.org from a 1998 Johns Hopkins study.

As for why it works, who knows. It is rather interesting.

[Chewbacca]

LOL

[malia]

ketogenic diet----

does that mean a low sugar diet?

[Born Conservative]

Yes, a low sugar diet.

[jellybean]

Look at this!!

[dogbyte12]

I work in special ed. I know a kid on a ketogenic diet. It hasn't "cured" his epilespy, but it certainly has vastly reduced the rate of seizure. There is no cheating for him. He is on a gastrointestinal tube that directly feeds nutrients into his stomach.

It has worked miracles for the parents. They didn't expect him to be alive this long, so severe were his seizures.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

History will prove (as America gets more obese) that Dr. Atkins was right all along, and that that food pyramid was one of the greatest deterents to good health ever. But Petah Jennings will never do a 20/20 to that end...obesity is caused by heartless, insensitive, Republican administrations.

[Bluntpoint]

I have been#$^%^^#$#^%^&&on the Atkins%^%##%^&**(diet for over a year and#%^*(&^%#^&*())have not had&*^*(((^%^%%$^one seisure!