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16 Apr 2008
A high-fat diet is being trialled as an epilepsy treatment to reduce seizures in children.
A group of children with epilepsy are taking part in a medical trial at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital which aims to study the effects of a ketogenic diet on the condition, the Guardian reports.
Similar to the Atkins diet, the regime is fat-rich with some protein and very little carbohydrates, putting the body into a fat-burning state called ketosis.
Scientists believe that this state of ketosis causes the body to produce chemical compounds called ketones that can help to stop seizures.
The diet had been used as an epilepsy treatment for some time before the advent of epilepsy drugs, when medication took over.
However experts hope that the diet may now help to reduce the frequency of seizures in thousands of children across Europe who are resistant to epilepsy medication.
"There is no doubt that this diet works in a significant amount of children," paediatric neurologist professor Helen Cross told the newspaper.
"Our trial, where all the children had not responded to medication, showed that 50 per cent got more than 50 per cent improvement in seizures, which shows a significant benefit over drugs."
According to the World Health Organisation some six million people in Europe currently have epilepsy.
Click here to learn more about epilepsy
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