Diet helps to control epilepsy
A special high-fat diet helps to control fits in children with epilepsy, a UK trial suggests. The number of seizures fell by a third in children on the "ketogenic" diet, where previously they had suffered fits every day despite medication.
The diet alters the body's metabolism by mimicking the effects of starvation, the researchers reported in the Lancet Neurology. The researchers called for the diet to be more widely available on the NHS. It is the first trial comparing the diet with routine care, even though it has been around since the 1920s.
Children are given a tailored diet very high in fat, low in carbohydrate and with controlled amounts of protein. A total of 145 children aged between two and 16 who had failed to respond to treatment with at least two anti-epileptic drugs took part in the study.
The number of seizures in the children on the diet fell to two-thirds of what they had been, but remained unchanged in those who had not yet started the diet, the researchers reported.
Five children in the diet group saw a seizure reduction of more than 90%.
