Ketogenic diet shown safe, effective option for some with rare and severest form of epilepsy
In a report on the trials, published online Feb. 8 in Neurology , the investigators conclude that the diet is a "feasible" option for people with so-called super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE), the most severe seizure classification, in which up to an estimated 60 percent of patients die once they develop this type of seizure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 million people in the U.S. have a seizure disorder. More than 150,000 people in the U.S. each year will develop refractory status epilepticus and, according to published studies, about half of those will develop super-refractory seizures. "From our past research, we know the ketogenic diet is effective in approximately one-third of adults with epilepsy who are resistant to traditional anti-seizure drugs," says Mackenzie C. Cervenka, M.D., associate professor of neurology and director of the Adult Epilepsy Diet Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of...