Low-carbohydrate diet curbs seizures in some kids

Last Updated: 2003-12-09 11:36:50 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The low-carbohydrate, high-protein Atkins diet, promoted as a pound-shedder, appears to also help prevent seizures in some children with epilepsy, researchers said Tuesday.

Among a group of six children and young adults asked to try the Atkins diet for at least four months, three became seizure-free, and continued to be for almost two years.

In an interview with Reuters Health, study author Dr. Eric Kossoff explained that the Atkins diet is a somewhat simpler version of another diet used to control seizures in children who do not respond well to medication.

To follow this so-called "ketogenic diet," children consume a large amount of fat and only trace amounts of carbohydrates and proteins, inducing a process called ketosis in their bodies.

Ketosis occurs when the body, deprived of its primary energy source, carbohydrates, turns to fat for fuel. For reasons that are not entirely clear, this process often reduces epileptic seizures.

Kossoff explained that he believed the Atkins diet also helps reduce seizures by causing the body to release ketones. Indeed, five out of the six study participants began producing ketones in their bodies within days of starting the Atkins diet, and kept producing them for up to two years.

There are a few advantages to opting for Atkins to induce ketosis, Kossoff noted. All children following the ketogenic diet must first fast for 48 hours, and thereafter have to strictly limit portions. As a result, they often struggle with eating out, he said.

On the Atkins diet, in contrast, children simply count carbohydrates, and have no restrictions on the number of calories they consume, Kossoff explained. They can learn what they can and can't eat just by buying an Atkins book, whereas children must be enrolled at certain centers and remain under the supervision of a team of experts to follow the ketogenic diet, he said.

The Atkins diet "is a less restrictive, easier to do alternative," Kossoff said.

However, he cautioned that children with epilepsy should only try the Atkins diet with the okay of their doctors, and with the supervision of a neurologist and dietitian.

"With medical supervision, I think it's a possible option," said Kossoff, who is based at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

He added that much remains unknown about the Atkins diet, and it may not be safe in kids with additional health problems, such as kidney problems, lipid problems or metabolic diseases.

Kossoff and his colleagues presented their findings during the American Epilepsy Society meeting in Boston.



http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...209elin003.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/...1103419,00.html


Atkins diet may curb epilepsy

Tim Radford
Wednesday December 10, 2003
The Guardian

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.

Ketogenic diets have been used for years to treat some severe seizure disorders, although not "Atkins".

The diet of the children I saw in one documentary lived on diets VERY close to pure fat, and the seizures stopped.

Does this work for adults as well?

It hasn't been studied extensively, but the general consensus is that No, ketogenic diets aren't helpful for adult seizure disorders. In fact, they're not believed to be helpful beyond puberty.

Age 1 - 10 is a period of rapid, active growth of the brain and nervous system .. and it's during this period of rapid growth that brain cells are most likely to be responsive to the effects of large concentrations of ketones in the blood ("ketokids" are typically kept somewhat dehydrated as well).


Doreen

The reason that I was wondering is the person that encouraged me to begin this WOE may be epileptic. He had 3 seizures in his life all within a 2 year period (he was over 30). Though all tests he had came out normal so he didnt know what to do and decided to try a ketogenic diet. He has been doing great with it so far and it has been over a year that he has been seizure free but he doesnt know if its because of the diet or what really.

I was hoping maybe there was something that showed that it helped adults too. Oh well, he has been doing fine for the past year + on it. He also said that he feels much better when he eats this way.

Thanks for the info,

MJ

Tel Aviv medical center agrees with your friend:

[Ketogenic diet--an alternative therapy for epilepsy in adults]

[Article in Hebrew]

Schiff Y, Lerman-Sagie T.

Nutrition and Diet Unit, Tel Aviv Medical Center.

The ketogenic diet is an accepted alternative for children with intractable generalized or multi-focal seizures not amenable to surgery. It is not commonly used in adults because of the impression that the diet is less effective after childhood, when it is more difficult both to achieve ketosis and to change dietary habits. We present a 20-year-old man with intractable epilepsy since early childhood who is being treated with great success by a medium-chain triglyceride ketogenic diet. It has not only controlled the seizures but has also improved quality of life. We recommend a therapeutic trial of the ketogenic diet in intractable epilepsy for all ages.

Wasn't this the subject of a movie starring Susan Sarandon as the mother of a small child who had almost constant seizures? She had to fight to take her son to the doctor who was using this diet to cure seizures. I saw it two or three years ago and don't remember what it was called, but it was based on a true story I believe.

My daughter has epilepsy but it is currently controlled by meds for the last 5 months but I'm glad there are other options and Atkins is one of them!!!

Check out the article:
http://www.babycenter.com/news/?id=516429#story

That is wonderful! Good luck to you and your daughter!

ps. Speaking of Atkins helping medical issues.. I was able to go off of my pre/post partum depression meds early, with no relapses.. could be coincidence, but I attribute the success to my LC WOL.

My stepson was on the Ketogenic Diet for a long time. It is much more restrictive than Atkins. Everything has to be weighed and measured with precision. We carried a scale and measuring spoons everywhere. It does help with smaller children, don't remember the exact age but believe is under 10 for sure. If you are interested, make sure you do it right. Just following plain Atkins won't work. You have to measure and balance everything according to her weight. Good luck.

latingirl the article is about the Atkins diet HAS worked for some Epileptic children.

I'd be cautiously optimistic. My son is on tegretol for seizures. I'd like to see a lot more extensive studies, though. Another article I read (I believe it's in the research media thread) mentioned an age cutoff as well, and my son would be too old according to that.

I'd also need to see some long-term studies done on these kids. I wonder what effect prolonged ketosis has on their growth?

thought this was interesting...

http://www.docguide.com/news/conten...ilepsy&count=10