AUSTIN—Adjusting the ketogenic diet is helpful in one of five children with epilepsy, researchers reported at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society.
“Medication adjustment and dietary modification lead to similar outcomes,” stated Eric Kossoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, and colleagues. “Therefore, both [tactics] can be tried if the ketogenic diet is not meeting seizure-control expectations.”
The findings are based on a retrospective review of 200 children with epilepsy who had begun the ketogenic diet at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between October 2007 and June 2013. Dr. Kossoff’s group identified 10 commonly implemented dietary and supplement changes among the children. The investigators also reviewed medication adjustments in the children, as well as patient records during the course of adherence to the ketogenic diet for as many as four interventions per child. Greater than 50% seizure reduction after a change was defined as success, according to the study authors.
A total of 156 children (78%) had at least one intervention, and 391 distinct and occasionally concurrent interventions were recorded, of which 265 were made specifically for seizure control, noted Dr. Kossoff.
“Overall, there was an 18% chance that any intervention would be successful, but only a 3% chance of resultant seizure freedom,” reported the researchers. “The likelihood of success did not decrease with each subsequent intervention. There was a trend toward medication adjustments being more successful than dietary modifications (24% vs 15%, respectively).”
—Colby Stong
Editor