Abstract
Despite over 80 years of use, the ketogenic diet (KD) has never been tested in a blinded manner. Twenty children with intractable Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) were fasted 36 h and then randomized to receive the classic KD in conjunction with a solution containing either 60 g/day of glucose or saccharin. Parents and physicians were blinded to both the solution composition and level of ketosis. A crossover to the KD with the alternate solution occurred following the sixth day and a repeat fast. A 24-h electroencephalography (EEG) was obtained at baseline and after each arm. After administration of the solution, there was moderate evidence of a reduction in parent-reported seizures between the glucose and saccharin arms, with a median difference of 1.5 seizures per day (p = 0.07). There was no reduction in the number of EEG-identified events, with a median reduction of 7 events per day (p = 0.33). Ketosis was not completely eliminated in the glucose-added arm.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 322-325 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Epilepsia |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2009 |
Keywords
- Children
- Epilepsy
- Fasting
- Ketogenic diet
- Randomized crossover trial
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology