News Section | Neurobiology
How some individuals with epilepsy benefit from Atkins-like diet
Scientists have found how ketogenic diet — a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet similar to the more commonly known Atkins diet—helps some individuals with epilepsy.
Some individuals with epilepsy fail to respond to treatment with conventional drugs but benefit from consuming a ketogenic diet.
Now, a team of researchers, led by Detlev Boison, at the Legacy Research Institute, Portland, has identified in mice the molecular mechanism responsible for the antiepileptic effects of the ketogenic diet.
They found that a ketogenic diet reduces seizures in mice by decreasing expression of the protein Adk, which is responsible for clearing the natural antiepileptic agent adenosine from the brain.
The team suggests that their data could lead to the development of less-restrictive antiepileptic diets and alternate pharmaceutical approaches to treatment.
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