ArticlePloS one2013
Ketogenic diet improves core symptoms of autism in BTBR mice.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02477904 (Ketogenic Diet Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 91 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Ketogenic Diet Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Who cites it
91 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 175 citations in OpenAlex.
- Are therapeutic diets an emerging additional choice in autism spectrum disorder management?World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2018Pooled it
- Ketogenic diet versus gluten free casein free diet in autistic children: a case-control study.Metabolic brain disease · 2017Trial
- β-hydroxybutyrate restores social deficits by suppressing HDAC9 in the ACC of Shank3B-deficient mice.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- The role of astrocytes in autism spectrum disorder and associated syndromes: Evidence, animal models, mechanisms, and therapeutic potential.Zoological research · 2026Review
- Nutritional Management of Schizophrenia: Gut-Brain Axis Mechanisms and Dietary Interventions.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Review
- Modulation of pain by ketones: a mini-review.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2025Review
- Gut-Brain Axis: Understanding the Interlink Between Alterations in the Gut Microbiota and Autism Spectrum Disorder.Cureus · 2025Review
- Adipose tissue may not be a major player in the inflammatory pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- The role of nutrition and gut microbiome in childhood brain development and behavior.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Exploring the potential association between dietary factors and autism spectrum disorder: a Mendelian randomization analysis and retrospective study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Ketogenic diet, adenosine, and dopamine in addiction and psychiatry.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Brain-gut-brain axis, nutrition, and autism spectrum disorders: a review.Translational pediatrics · 2024Review
- Adult Inception of Ketogenic Diet Therapy Increases Sleep during the Dark Cycle in C57BL/6J Wild Type and Fragile X Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Autism spectrum disorders and the gastrointestinal tract: insights into mechanisms and clinical relevance.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2024Review
- Review
- Ketogenic diet and behavior: insights from experimental studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Review
- Ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) preserves mitochondrial bioenergetics.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Gut microbiota and autism spectrum disorders: where do we stand?Gut pathogens · 2023Article
- Ketogenic Diet Affects Sleep Architecture in C57BL/6J Wild Type and Fragile X Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders share three core symptoms: impaired sociability, repetitive behaviors and communication deficits. Incidence is rising, and current treatments are inadequate. Seizures are a common comorbidity, and since the 1920's a high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet has been used to treat epilepsy. Evidence suggests the ketogenic diet and analogous metabolic approaches may benefit diverse neurological disorders. Here we show that a ketogenic diet improves autistic behaviors in the BTBR mouse. Juvenile BTBR mice were fed standard or ketogenic diet for three weeks and tested for sociability, self-directed repetitive behavior, and communication. In separate experiments, spontaneous intrahippocampal EEGs and tests of seizure susceptibility (6 Hz corneal stimulation, flurothyl, SKF83822, pentylenetetrazole) were compared between BTBR and control (C57Bl/6) mice. Ketogenic diet-fed BTBR mice showed increased sociability in a three-chamber test, decreased self-directed repetitive behavior, and improved social communication of a food preference. Although seizures are a common comorbidity with autism, BTBR mice fed a standard diet exhibit neither spontaneous seizures nor abnormal EEG, and have increased seizure susceptibility in just one of four tests. Thus, behavioral improvements are dissociable from any antiseizure effect. Our results suggest that a ketogenic diet improves multiple autistic behaviors in the BTBR mouse model. Therefore, ketogenic diets or analogous metabolic strategies may offer novel opportunities to improve core behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.