The changing face of dietary therapy for epilepsy

Ketogenic diet is an established and effective non-pharmacologic treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy. Ketogenic diet represents the treatment of choice for GLUT-1 deficiency syndrome and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency. Infantile spasms, Dravet syndrome and myoclonic-astatic epilepsy are epilepsy syndromes for which ketogenic diet should be considered early in the therapeutic pathway. Recently, clinical indications for ketogenic diet have been increasing, as there is emerging evidence regarding safety and effectiveness. Specifically, ketogenic diet response has been investigated in refractory status epilepticus and encephalopathy with status epilepticus during sleep. New targets in neuropharmacology, such as mitochondrial permeability transition, are being studied and might lead to using it effectively in other neurological diseases. But, inefficient connectivity and impaired ketogenic diet proposal limit ideal availability of this therapeutic option. Ketogenic diet in Italy is not yet considered as standard of care, not even as a therapeutic option for many child neurologists and epileptologists.

Conclusions: The aim of this review is to revisit ketogenic diet effectiveness and safety in order to highlight its importance in drug-resistant epilepsy and other neurological disorders.