ReviewNutrients2020
Therapeutic Use of the Ketogenic Diet in Refractory Epilepsy: What We Know and What Still Needs to Be Learned.
Review in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 113 citations in OpenAlex.
- Classical and Modified Ketogenic Diets for Children and Young People With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: A Reflection of International Dietetic Practice and Best Practice Recommendations for Dietitians.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Pooled it
- Renal effects of short-term ketone monoester supplementation in healthy adults: A randomized, placebo-controlled study.Physiological reports · 2026Trial
- Epilepsy as a Disorder of Neuroimmune Metabolism: The Kynurenine Pathway as a Link Between Cognitive and Psychiatric Dysfunction.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Diet, the Gut Microbiome, and Mental Health: Mechanistic Perspectives.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Strategies in Epilepsy: From Molecular Mechanisms to Threshold Management.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Metabolomic Profiling of Plasma in Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: The Effect of the Ketogenic Diet on Energy and Amino Acid Pathways.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Radiographic study of mandibular alterations resulting from aketogenic diet in growing rats.Acta odontologica latinoamericana : AOL · 2026Article
- β-Hydroxybutyrate attenuates bronchial smooth muscle proinflammatory cytokine production and contraction.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2026Article
- Ketogenic diet as a therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases: from mechanisms to translational challenges.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- Ketogenic Diet in Children with Type 1 Diabetes: Parental Motivations and Potential Risks for Metabolic Health and Development.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Investigation of the implementation and utilization of ketogenic diet therapy in China : For the Commission on Standardized Development of Epilepsy Centers and Commission on Ketogenic Diet, China Association Against Epilepsy.Acta epileptologica · 2026Article
- The Role of Antioxidants in the Connection Between Microbiota, Neuroinflammation and Epilepsy.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Ketogenic diet can inhibit epileptic seizures by inhibiting RGMa methylation to promote GluA1 palmitoylation in the epileptic rat model.Nutrition & metabolism · 2026Article
- Plasma untargeted metabolomics reveals metabolic signatures associated with epilepsy and anti-seizure medication responsiveness.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- Intranasal Biodegradable Nanomedicine for Epilepsy Management: Targeting the Brain Beyond the Blood-Brain Barrier.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Clinical Insights Into the Mechanistic Crossroads of Lamotrigine and Therapeutic Ketosis in Bipolar Depression.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Review
- The ketogenic diet alleviates neuronal ferroptosis in epilepsy via HDAC4/TFRC signalling.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2026Article
- Alteration of Gut Microbiota by Ketogenic Diet as an Alternative Therapeutic Target for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Clinical characteristics of pediatric epilepsy in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.BMC neurology · 2025Article
- The therapeutic effects of ketogenic diet, lacosamide, and combination therapy in children with refractory epilepsy.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
16 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
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Ketogenic diet (KD) has been used to treat epilepsy for 100 years. It is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and sufficient-protein-for-growth diet that mimics the metabolic changes occurring during starvation. Except for classic KD, its modified counterparts, including modified Atkins diet and low-glycemic-index treatment, have gained grounds to increase palatability and adherence. Strong evidence exists that the KD offers protection against seizures in difficult-to-treat epilepsy and possesses long-lasting anti-epileptic activity, improving long-term disease outcome. The KD can also provide symptomatic and disease-modifying activity in a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases. In an era of highly available new anti-seizure medications (ASMs), the challenge of refractory epilepsy has still not been solved. This metabolic therapy is increasingly considered due to unique mechanisms and turns out to be a powerful tool in the hands of a skillful team. Despite decades of extensive research to explain the mechanism of its efficacy, the precise mechanism of action is to date still largely unknown. The key feature of this successful diet is the fact that energy is derived largely from fat but not from carbohydrates. Consequently, fundamental change occurs regarding the method of energy production that causes alterations in numerous biochemical pathways, thus restoring energetic and metabolic homeostasis of the brain. There are barriers during the use of this special and individualized therapy in many clinical settings worldwide. The aim of this review is to revisit the current state of the art of therapeutic application of KD in refractory epilepsy.
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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.