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The importance of parental expectations of cognitive improvement for their children with epilepsy prior to starting the ketogenic diet
- Source :
- Epilepsybehavior : EB. 8(2)
- Publication Year :
- 2005
-
Abstract
- Although the success rates and complications of various treatment options for children with intractable epilepsy have been described, the actual expectations of parents for these treatments are less clear. Since 1998, parents at our institution have written their goals in a letter before starting their children on the ketogenic diet. One hundred consecutive letters were evaluated. The most common first goal was seizure improvement, second was anticonvulsant reduction, and third was cognitive improvement. Ninety percent requested improvement in cognition or alertness. These expectations were either met or exceeded at 6 months in 52–60% of children. Achieving or surpassing parental expectations for cognitive improvement correlated with longer diet duration (P = 0.04), but meeting goals for seizure or anticonvulsant reduction did not. Cognitive improvement (P 90% seizure reduction (P = 0.04) at 6 months positively correlated with longer eventual diet duration. Expectations for cognitive improvement need to be discussed prior to beginning the ketogenic diet.
- Subjects :
- Male
Parents
medicine.medical_specialty
medicine.medical_treatment
Intractable epilepsy
Seizure reduction
Behavioral Neuroscience
Epilepsy
Cognition
medicine
Humans
Psychiatry
Child
Treatment options
Ketosis
medicine.disease
Dietary Fats
Alertness
Anticonvulsant
Neurology
Attitude
Anticonvulsants
Female
Neurology (clinical)
Psychology
Goals
Ketogenic diet
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15255050
- Volume :
- 8
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Epilepsybehavior : EB
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....ae06acbbe77671b2fe396dff4da8df44