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The role of ketogenic diet in controlling epileptic seizures
Raidah S Al-Baradie1, Alaa Alshammari1, Modhi Alajmi1
1From the Pedartic Neurology, Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Insights
The ketogenic diet (KD) shows promise in reducing seizures for children with difficult-to-treat epilepsy in Saudi Arabia. Further research with larger groups is recommended to confirm these positive findings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Nutrition
- Epileptology
Background:
- Medically resistant epilepsy presents significant challenges in pediatric care.
- The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet used therapeutically.
- Saudi Arabia has a specific demographic profile for epilepsy cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of the ketogenic diet (KD) in managing medically resistant epilepsy in Saudi children.
- To assess seizure control rates over a 24-month period following KD initiation.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 31 pediatric patients with medically resistant epilepsy.
- Data collected from a tertiary care epilepsy center between 2013 and 2018.
- Seizure frequency and reduction evaluated at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-enrollment.
Main Results:
- The study included 31 children (45.2% male, 54.8% female).
- Myoclonic and mixed seizures were the most prevalent types (29% each).
- After 12 months on KD, 19.35% of participants achieved seizure freedom.
Conclusions:
- The ketogenic diet (KD) demonstrates effectiveness in controlling seizures in Saudi children with medically resistant epilepsy.
- Findings suggest KD as a viable therapeutic option for this population.
- A larger cohort study is warranted to validate these preliminary results.
Objectives:
To study the role of the ketogenic diet (KD) in controlling seizures in children with medically resistant epilepsy in Saudi Arabia.
Methods:
This retrospective study was conducted in the Pediatric Neurology Clinic at a tertiary care epilepsy center. Thirty-one patients with medically resistant epilepsy were enrolled from 2013 to 2018. The seizure reduction variables were evaluated at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after enrollment.
Results:
Of the 31 patients, 14 (45.2%) were males and 17 (54.8%) were females. The most common types of seizures were myoclonic seizures and mixed seizures, both of which occurred in 9 (29%) of the participants. Of the participants, 15 (48.4%) had seizures one to 5 times per day. Six months after starting a KD, 2 (6.45%) of participants were seizure-free; 6 (19.35%) were seizure-free after 12 months of treatment.
Conclusion:
The present study highlighted the effectiveness of KD in medically resistant epilepsy children to local population. A larger cohort is warrant to confirm these findings.
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