A new study has reinforced the potential benefits of a ketogenic diet in children with drug-resistant epilepsy.
It found that the children were more likely to benefit from the diet if they had raised levels of specific bifidobacteria and a particular protein.
Bifidobacteria is a probiotic that appears in large quantities in the gut.
The protein the team studied was tumour necrosis factor (TNF). It forms when an infection attacks the body.
More likely to respond
When the bifidobacteria and TNF were at higher levels in a child with drug-resistant epilepsy, the children were more likely to respond to the diet.
A ketogenic diet is low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Staples of the diet include fish, vegetables, cheese, chicken, eggs and nuts.
Professor Stefanie Prast-Nielsen, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, led the study.
The research has added to other recent studies that have suggested a role for gut bacteria in epilepsy.
28 children used the ketogenic diet
The researchers treated 28 children with drug-resistant epilepsy using the ketogenic diet.
Professor Stefanie Prast-Nielsen’s research shows some children with drug-resistant epilepsy benefit from the ketogenic diet
Professor Stefanie Prast-Nielsen’s research shows some children with drug-resistant epilepsy benefit from the ketogenic diet. They found changes in the gut and inflammation levels.
The diet had a general anti-inflammatory effect, say the researchers.
Professor Prast-Nielsen said that other studies would now need to confirm the results in a “larger patient population” and in “other parts of the world”.
But if those studies do confirm her results, she said it may be possible to develop a diagnostic tool that could “quickly identify potential responders” to the diet.
The professor also said it may also be possible to look at whether the bifidobacteria themselves have an anti-seizure effect without the diet.
Body of evidence
Grace Haydon is the senior advice and information officer for the charity Epilepsy Action.
She said epilepsy is drug-resistant in around one in three cases.
Haydon said professor Prast-Nielsen’s work adds to the “body of evidence” about how the diet works and who it may be most suitable for.
The full study can be seen here.
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Published: 31 May 2022
