Myoclonic astatic epilepsy and the role of the ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet remains one of the most effective treatments for medically refractory childhood epilepsy. In spite of the long history of its use, relatively little is known about the mechanism of action. The diet's efficacy in a wide range of epilepsy syndromes suggests that it may have multiple mechanisms of action, each of which may be more relevant to a specific disease state. Further research is necessary to define the mechanism of action, which may, in turn, lead to easier means to provide the therapeutic benefit.