Ketone Administration for Seizure Disorders: History and Rationale for Ketone Esters and Metabolic Alternatives.

ABSTRACT: The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate treatment for medically intractable epilepsy. One of the hallmark features of the KD is the production of ketone bodies which have long been believed, but not yet proven, to exert direct anti-seizure effects. The prevailing view has been that ketosis is an epiphenomenon during KD treatment, mostly due to clinical observations that blood ketone levels do not correlate well with seizure control. Nevertheless, there is increasing experimental evidence that ketone bodies alone can exert anti-seizure properties through a multiplicity of mechanisms, including but not limited to: (1) activation of inhibitory adenosine and ATP-sensitive potassium channels; (2) enhancement of mitochondrial function and reduction in oxidative stress; (3) attenu

SUBMITTER: Poff AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6803688 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature