Neurológia pre prax 3/2015

Katogenic diet: its efficacy and practical use

Ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low protein, low carbohydrate diet that is an effective treatment of refractory epilepsy in children. The “classic” diet consists of long chain saturated triglycerides with a 3:1 or 4:1 [fat]: [protein + carbohydrate] ratio by weight, with 87–90% of calories derived from fat. In children, the diet may lead to disease modification, with permanent seizure freedom or improvement. In spite of the success of KD treatment of children, KD has been little studied in adults. The anticonvulsant effect occurs quickly within days to a couple of weeks. The efficacy of KD compares favorably with efficacy of new AEDs. At present, there are no clinical or biochemical predictors of treatment responsiveness.

Keywords: epilepsy, ketogenic diet, therapy, efficiency, side effects.