Treatment of refractory epilepsy with the modified Atkins diet

The modified Atkins diet (MAD) is an alternative therapeutic diet for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. It consists of a diet with 60% energy from fat, 30% from protein, and 10% from carbohydrates. The objective of this article is to present a series of nine patients diagnosed with refractory epilepsy of different etiologies treated with the MAD at our hospital. In our group of nine patients, results obtained were similar to those published by other authors, with adequate adherence, tolerance and response. Of all patients, two achieved a reduction of more than 90% in the number of seizures; four experienced a reduction of 50-90%; two had a reduction of less than 50% in seizure control; and only one patient did not respond to the MAD. No patient had an increase in the number of seizures, and the diet was well-tolerated in all cases.