A new study reports on the findings of a clinical trial testing a dietary intervention for children and adults with severe forms of epilepsy.
Patients with epilepsy who followed a ketogenic diet, rich in fats and low in carbohydrates, with adequate amounts of proteins experienced a 50% reduction in the frequency of seizure events, a new study found.
The study, led by Prof Matthew C Walker, from the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, at University College London, was recently published in the journal Brain Communications.
About the new diet
Ketogenic diets are widely used for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. The idea behind this diet is to activate the body’s fat burning system, shifting from the use of carbohydrates to fat as the primary source of calories, a process called ketosis.
However, compliance with ketogenic diets is a major issue, as these diets can cause constipation, low blood sugar, and stomach problems, and some of the supplements commonly used are considered unappetizing.
With these issues in mind, the authors of this study developed a new supplement called K.Vita, in collaboration with Royal Holloway, University of London, and Vitaflo International Ltd.
The oral liquid dietary supplement aims to reduce the adverse side effects and help improve compliance with the diet. K.Vita was also designed to increase levels of decanoic acid, which authors believe is a key component in the beneficial effects of ketogenic diets.
“It has long been thought the diet was effective due to its production of ketones, however we now believe the increase in levels of the fatty acid, decanoic acid, also produced by the diet, may provide the powerful antiseizure effects,” Prof Walker said.
“In this study we evaluated a newly developed medium chain triglyceride (type of dietary fat) supplement, designed to increase levels of decanoic acid, while also reducing the adverse side effects, and to be more palatable,” he added.
About the study
The study analysed the effect of this new diet on 35 children with genetically caused epilepsy, who didn’t respond to drugs and 26 adults with drug-resistant epilepsy. Participants took the K.Vita supplement along side meals, which included low consumption of high-refined sugary food and beverages.
Over the next 12 weeks, participants received increasing doses of the supplement. After the 12 weeks, 66% of children and 69% of adults had completed the full course of the trial. Gastrointestinal problems were the main reason cited by those who did not continue the diet. In contrast, about 75% of participants reported favourable on taste, texture, appearance, and ease of use.
The most significant clinical outcome was the mean 50% reduction in seizures or paroxysmal events, observed in participants who completed the study. Among them, researchers also detected that less than 10% produced significant levels of ketones.
“Our study provides early evidence of the tolerability and effectiveness of a new dietary supplement in severe drug-resistant epilepsies in adults and children and provides a further treatment option in these devastating conditions. It also offers an alternative, more liberal, diet for those who cannot tolerate or do not have access to ketogenic diets,” he said.
“Furthermore, high ketone levels were not observed in over 90% of the participants. This indicates that the effect of the diet was independent from ketosis; this is important because high ketone levels in the ketogenic diets contribute to both short- and longer-term side effects,” he added.
Overall, the findings open the door to a potential new treatment for patients with hard-to-treat epilepsy.