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Review
. 2018;16(1):66-70.
doi: 10.2174/1570159X15666170517153509.

The Anticonvulsant Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Epileptic Seizures and Potential Mechanisms

Yifan Zhang  1 , Jingwei Xu  1 , Kun Zhang  1 , Wei Yang  1 , Bingjin Li  1
Affiliations
Review

The Anticonvulsant Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Epileptic Seizures and Potential Mechanisms

Yifan Zhang et al. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2018.

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is a syndrome of brain dysfunction induced by the aberrant excitability of certain neurons. Despite advances in surgical technique and anti-epileptic drug in recent years, recurrent epileptic seizures remain intractable and lead to a serious morbidity in the world. The ketogenic diet refers to a high-fat, low-carbohydrate and adequate-protein diet. Currently, its beneficial effects on epileptic seizure reduction have been well established. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the anti-epileptic effects of ketogenic diet are still poorly understood. In this article, the possible roles of ketogenic diet on epilepsy were discussed.

Methods: Data was obtained from the websites including Web of Science, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, based on these keywords: "Ketogenic diet" and "epilepsy".

Results: As shown in both clinical and basic studies, the therapeutic effects of ketogenic diet might involve neuronal metabolism, neurotransmitter function, neuronal membrane potential and neuron protection against ROS.

Conclusion: In this review, we systematically reviewed the effects and possible mechanisms of ketogenic diet on epilepsy, which may optimize the therapeutic strategies against epilepsy.

Keywords: Epilepsy; GABA; animal; ketogenic diet; neuron; seizure.

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