The Guardian: Epilepsy cured by Ketogenic Diet

[awriter]

Wow - this IS news!

THE DIET THAT CAN TREAT EPILEPSY

Giving drugs to children with epilepsy is often ineffective and can have terrible side-effects. But there is an alternative - a high-fat food plan that dramatically reduces seizures

Sarah Spendiff
Tuesday April 15, 2008
The Guardian

Matthew was one of the few to be placed on a medical trial at GOSH studying the effects of the Ketogenic diet in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. It is similar to the Atkins diet, in that it is high fat, with some protein and very low carb. This puts the body into a fat-burning state called ketosis, during which it produces chemical compounds called ketones, which stop the seizures. The diet had been used to treat epilepsy for many years but, with the arrival of epileptic drugs, it was sidelined. Now, thanks to this randomised control trial by paediatric neurologist Professor Helen Cross, it is undergoing a resurgence.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterised by recurrent seizures when the normal working of the brain is interrupted. It affects around 200,000 children in the UK, a third of whom will be resistant to medication. "There is no doubt that this diet works in a significant amount of children," says Cross. "If you fail with the first two drugs then the likelihood of any other drug succeeding is about 10%. In those cases parents should be offered the diet before proceeding with other medications. Our trial, where all the children had not responded to medication, showed that 50% got more than 50% improvement in seizures, which shows a significant benefit over drugs."
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There's lots more. To read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/6zmlsy

Lisa

[francisstp]

Is there only 1 page??

I'm left with a feeling there should be a "continued on next page" at the bottom there. This is quite an abrupt way to finish this otherwise good article!

[Nancy LC]

This isn't really exactly news. Ketogenic diets have been used for many years now for treating kids with epilepsy.

[amandawood]

This isn't really exactly news. Ketogenic diets have been used for many years now for treating kids with epilepsy.

Nancy, some of us haven't been around the low-carb world for as long as you and stuff like this is news to us.

Please don't patronise those of us who haven't yet read as much as you have; it's insulting.

amanda

[francisstp]

Nancy, some of us haven't been around the low-carb world for as long as you and stuff like this is news to us.

Please don't patronise those of us who haven't yet read as much as you have; it's insulting.

amanda


The people who wrote these news stories are those who should know better, not those who read them.

Don't overinterpret...

[Rheneas]

This isn't really exactly news. Ketogenic diets have been used for many years now for treating kids with epilepsy.

This is true, Johns Hopkins Hospital began them in about 1920s the specialist in charge was a lady called Milllicent Kelly. There was actually a docufilm about it called 'First Do No Harm', I think it was Meryl Streep in it, worth a watch.

[Wyvrn]

Nancy, some of us haven't been around the low-carb world for as long as you and stuff like this is news to usI don't think Nancy meant to be insulting, its just that people might interpret this to mean that ketogenic diets don't have the long history of success that they do in treating seizure disorders.

[icedancer]

I think what is unconscionable is that they act like this is some sort of epic medical procedure. The fact one doctor said "I have the resources to have 30 children on the diet at any one time but I've still got a huge waiting list." What???
Sometimes, when there is little payout, there is no spreading of treatment...

[bike2work]

I'm in the middle of Dangerous Grains by Braly and Hoggan (http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Grains-Gluten-Cereal-Hazardous/dp/1583331298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208375702&sr=8-1); last night I read that they've had the same results with a gluten-free diet.

Amanda, I don't think Nancy meant to be patronizing. This information was made into a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep years ago; it's very much in the popular culture, not just the scientific literature. In fact, that movie is credited with igniting the low carb movement back in 2000 or so. Please don't be so hasty to criticize. We need Nancy! Thank you. :)

[Nancy LC]

Nancy, some of us haven't been around the low-carb world for as long as you and stuff like this is news to us.

Please don't patronise those of us who haven't yet read as much as you have; it's insulting.

amanda
I wasn't trying to be insulting. I just get irritated with news sources who recycle stuff like this. I keep seeing news articles like this that make you think it is something is newly discovered but it really isn't. They never give any history or background so you'd have no idea that this has been around for decades.

I'm sorry you took it so personally.

[Nancy LC]

I'm in the middle of Dangerous Grains by Braly and Hoggan (http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Grains-Gluten-Cereal-Hazardous/dp/1583331298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208375702&sr=8-1); last night I read that they've had the same results with a gluten-free diet.
Yeah, that book really helped me get gluten out of my diet once and for all! Good read isn't it?

[bike2work]

Yeah, that book really helped me get gluten out of my diet once and for all! Good read isn't it?
OMG! That chapter on gluten and the brain is enough to enforce dietary compliance for life. The reviews on amazon left me doubtful; I thought the book would just be unsubstantiated hype after reading them. But it sure seems to be supported by research, as far as I can tell.

I had already accepted that bread, cakes, cookies, etc. were no longer part of my life, but I was having very hard time with the idea that I need to get rid of all the tiny quantities: in hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, demi-glace, anything with the ingredient "natural flavors", etc. But this book is making me more willing.

Sadly, I am briefly back on the poison for a blood test :( . But I sent off my, um ... sample, to enterolab this morning. I hope to get some kind of confirmation soon.

[Nancy LC]

LOL! I laugh because I remember my own sending off of the sample... Having poop in my freezer gave me the willies. Then the whole storage issue while I was at work... I was so scared someone would find it in the freezer (it was well wrapped, I assure you!)

[1annewil]

I have a son who has seizures and the diet was included in a book for youth with seizures that Johns Hopkins put out. My son's neuro told me I was the only person to whom he recommended the book who bought and read it. Later, we talked it over (the diet) and the doctor said it would work but it was hard to stay on. It's an extreme vlc version. My son is 21 now and refuses the diet b/c the meds work fine for him. The diet has been out there for a number of years-nothing new.

[bike2work]

I have a son who has seizures and the diet was included in a book for youth with seizures that Johns Hopkins put out. My son's neuro told me I was the only person to whom he recommended the book who bought and read it. Later, we talked it over (the diet) and the doctor said it would work but it was hard to stay on. It's an extreme vlc version. My son is 21 now and refuses the diet b/c the meds work fine for him. The diet has been out there for a number of years-nothing new.
Has he tried gluten-free? All the bread, cake, pizza he wants, just so long as it's made out of rice or corn or anything other than wheat, barley or rye. It might be worth looking into. I can give you some medical journal references from the book I mentioned to show his doctor. :)

[bike2work]

... in my freezer ...
That part of it just freaked me out. :Puke:

[1annewil]

Thanks, Allison, but he won't do it. I'll remeber that tho. I've talked a blue streak to him. I think when he's out of school and mature he'll maybe consider this but youth can be soo foolish. He even denied seizures were real for him for years and don't even say the word epilepsy around him. I love him but sometimes i want to bop him on the head.
Thanks, tho, Anne

[Wifezilla]

I love him but sometimes i want to bop him on the head.


I have a 20 year old. I so understand :hugs:

[Mrs. Skip]

Just wanted to mention that my daughter had a friend who had epilepsy...she was not told about low carb, but instead was put on a VERY STRICT vegan-only diet. No fat of any kind, and mostly just all raw vegies, soy, etc. She was told that if she ate animal products or fat at all, it would make her seizures worse, and possibly kill her. (from the ultimate Grand Mal seizure.)

They also got her a seizure dog, which was this big dog (with a blue colored tongue! :lol: ) that could warn her a few seconds or minutes before a seizure would start.

This girl had to drop out of the regular high school and go to a special school after a little while. I truly wish I knew how she is doing now...it has been probably four years ago now, maybe five...but once kids graduate from high school, they go on to different lives and don't keep up with all their old friends. So I have no idea how she's doing.

The only thing I know for a FACT is that she and her mother were absolutely shocked when I mentioned that maybe she needed some fats and more protein in her diet...their doctor had told them it would probably kill her...so the ketogenic diet for epilepsy is NOT old news to everyone...maybe even some doctors.

[Nancy LC]

It doesn't just help kids. I remember awhile back we had an adult here who had tremendous relief from seizures on low carb. And something has been in the news in the last year about Atkins and epilepsy. Many people find relief from gluten free diets too.

[teaser]

When I was twenty one I started having these weird attacks of I don't know what. It would start with sort of a change of awareness. My hands would get all sweaty, and I'd sort of generally go numb after a while. If I was drawing while it happened, I would suddenly get really focused, and feel like I was really doing good work. Same thing if I was playing guitar. If I was eating something, the flavour would become unbearably strong. After maybe half a minute, though, whatever I was doing I'd have to stop and just pace around for a while. I'd drink lots of water, but I wasn't thirsty, it was just on the chance that I had high blood sugar or something, working on the theory that I could dilute it a bit. Duh. After two minutes, I'd start to tingle and the numbness would go away. That happened almost daily for years, then went away for a while. While it was gone I enjoyed all the benefits of full-blown psychosis.
I stopped smoking pot and the voices went away, but after some more time had passed, I started having those same weird phases, but they mostly woke me up in the night, usually between twelve and one. Again, almost every day. Boy, if your sense of touch turns off for just a few minutes, you really feel any little aches and pains that you've grown accustomed to.
It still happens, but very rarely now. I've looked at hyper and hypo glycemia, strokes, panic attacks, probably some other possibilities, but the closest to describing what I've experienced is this page that I found here (http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40024895/).

[francisstp]

I truly wish I knew how she is doing now...it has been probably four years ago now, maybe five...but once kids graduate from high school, they go on to different lives and don't keep up with all their old friends. So I have no idea how she's doing.




Sorry if this seems blatantly obvious, but you should check her on facebook.

[RawNut]

Sorry if this seems blatantly obvious, but you should check her on facebook.

Good Idea. Might want to try Myspace and Classmates.com as well.

Craig

[RawNut]

When I was twenty one I started having these weird attacks of I don't know what. It would start with sort of a change of awareness. My hands would get all sweaty, and I'd sort of generally go numb after a while. If I was drawing while it happened, I would suddenly get really focused, and feel like I was really doing good work. Same thing if I was playing guitar. If I was eating something, the flavour would become unbearably strong. After maybe half a minute, though, whatever I was doing I'd have to stop and just pace around for a while. I'd drink lots of water, but I wasn't thirsty, it was just on the chance that I had high blood sugar or something, working on the theory that I could dilute it a bit. Duh. After two minutes, I'd start to tingle and the numbness would go away. That happened almost daily for years, then went away for a while. While it was gone I enjoyed all the benefits of full-blown psychosis.
I stopped smoking pot and the voices went away, but after some more time had passed, I started having those same weird phases, but they mostly woke me up in the night, usually between twelve and one. Again, almost every day. Boy, if your sense of touch turns off for just a few minutes, you really feel any little aches and pains that you've grown accustomed to.
It still happens, but very rarely now. I've looked at hyper and hypo glycemia, strokes, panic attacks, probably some other possibilities, but the closest to describing what I've experienced is this page that I found here (http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40024895/).

Teaser,

That link reminds me of something similar that happened to me a few times in my early twenties. One time, I was driving my car and all of a sudden I didn't know where I was or what I was doing. It was as if I had appeared in the driver's seat of a moving car and had to quickly figure out what was going on, where I was, and what to do. Thank God I didn't crash! That was very scary and I'm thankful it didn't happen on a daily basis. It may have been one of those temporal seizures.

Craig

[Mrs. Skip]

Sorry if this seems blatantly obvious, but you should check her on facebook.


I never thought of that...will do! BTW, I just checked your profile...and yes, you are the age of one of my kids....please don't be too hard on the generation who grew up thinking Atari's "Pong" was the ultimate in electronic excitement... :lol:

[amandawood]

I wasn't trying to be insulting. I just get irritated with news sources who recycle stuff like this. I keep seeing news articles like this that make you think it is something is newly discovered but it really isn't. They never give any history or background so you'd have no idea that this has been around for decades.

I'm sorry you took it so personally.

Apologies accepted. Must have got out of the wrong side of bed: I'm not normally that sensitive.

And I know what you mean about the "recycling" of "news" that isn't in the least bit new - like the one about the low-fat diet being really healthy and stuff, that's getting a bit worn round the edges, too...

amanda