Back to Search
Start Over
Efficacy of the Ketogenic Diet for the Treatment of Refractory Childhood Epilepsy: Cerebrospinal Fluid Neurotransmitters and Amino Acid Levels
- Source :
- Pediatric Neurology. 53:422-426
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Objective The mechanisms of the ketogenic diet remain unclear, but several predictors of response have been proposed. We aimed is to study the relationship between the etiology of epilepsy, cerebrospinal fluid neurotransmitters, pterins, and amino acids, and response to a ketogenic diet. Methods We studied 60 patients who began classic ketogenic diet treatment for refractory epilepsy. In 24 of 60 individuals, we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid neurotransmitters, pterins, and amino acids in baseline conditions. Mean age at epilepsy onset was 24 months, 83.3% were focal epilepsies, and in 51.7% the etiology of the epilepsy was unknown. Results Six months after initiating the ketogenic diet, it was effective (greater than a 50% reduction in seizure frequency) in 31.6% of patients. We did not find a link between rate of efficacy for the ketogenic diet and etiologies of epilepsy, nor did we find a link between the rate of efficacy for the ketogenic diet and cerebrospinal fluid pterins and biogenic amines concentrations. However, we found statistically significant differences for lysine and arginine values in the cerebrospinal fluid between ketogenic diet responders and nonresponders, but not for the other amino acids analyzed. Significance The values of some amino acids were significantly different in relationship with the ketogenic diet efficacy; however, the epilepsy etiology and the cerebrospinal fluid biogenic amine and pterin values were not.
- Subjects :
- Drug Resistant Epilepsy
medicine.medical_specialty
Arginine
medicine.medical_treatment
Epilepsy
Cerebrospinal fluid
Developmental Neuroscience
Seizures
Internal medicine
Biogenic amine
Humans
Medicine
Age of Onset
Amino Acids
chemistry.chemical_classification
Neurotransmitter Agents
business.industry
medicine.disease
Amino acid
Treatment Outcome
Endocrinology
Neurology
chemistry
Child, Preschool
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Epilepsies, Partial
Neurology (clinical)
Age of onset
Diet, Ketogenic
business
Ketogenic diet
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 08878994
- Volume :
- 53
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Pediatric Neurology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8415f741391a88ebe731390730f97b5e
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2015.07.013