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Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies
The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat low-carbohydrate diet that has been used for decades as a non-pharmacologic approach to treat metabolic disorders and refractory pediatric epilepsy. In recent years, enthusiasm for the KD has increased in the scientific community due to evidence that the diet re...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8650112/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34888340 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.782657 |
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author | Gough, Sarah M. Casella, Alicia Ortega, Kristen Jasmin Hackam, Abigail S. |
author_facet | Gough, Sarah M. Casella, Alicia Ortega, Kristen Jasmin Hackam, Abigail S. |
author_sort | Gough, Sarah M. |
collection | PubMed |
description | The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat low-carbohydrate diet that has been used for decades as a non-pharmacologic approach to treat metabolic disorders and refractory pediatric epilepsy. In recent years, enthusiasm for the KD has increased in the scientific community due to evidence that the diet reduces pathology and improves various outcome measures in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders, including multiple sclerosis, stroke, glaucoma, spinal cord injury, retinal degenerations, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials also suggest that the KD improved quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the major ketone bodies BHB and ACA have potential neuroprotective properties and are now known to have direct effects on specific inflammatory proteins, transcription factors, reactive oxygen species, mitochondria, epigenetic modifications and the composition of the gut microbiome. Neuroprotective benefits of the KD are likely due to a combination of these cellular processes and other potential mechanisms that are yet to be confirmed experimentally. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current evidence for the effectiveness of the KD in humans and preclinical models of various neurological disorders, describes molecular mechanisms that may contribute to its beneficial effects, and highlights key controversies and current gaps in knowledge. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8650112 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-86501122021-12-08 Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies Gough, Sarah M. Casella, Alicia Ortega, Kristen Jasmin Hackam, Abigail S. Front Nutr Nutrition The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat low-carbohydrate diet that has been used for decades as a non-pharmacologic approach to treat metabolic disorders and refractory pediatric epilepsy. In recent years, enthusiasm for the KD has increased in the scientific community due to evidence that the diet reduces pathology and improves various outcome measures in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders, including multiple sclerosis, stroke, glaucoma, spinal cord injury, retinal degenerations, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials also suggest that the KD improved quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the major ketone bodies BHB and ACA have potential neuroprotective properties and are now known to have direct effects on specific inflammatory proteins, transcription factors, reactive oxygen species, mitochondria, epigenetic modifications and the composition of the gut microbiome. Neuroprotective benefits of the KD are likely due to a combination of these cellular processes and other potential mechanisms that are yet to be confirmed experimentally. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current evidence for the effectiveness of the KD in humans and preclinical models of various neurological disorders, describes molecular mechanisms that may contribute to its beneficial effects, and highlights key controversies and current gaps in knowledge. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-11-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8650112/ /pubmed/34888340 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.782657 Text en Copyright © 2021 Gough, Casella, Ortega and Hackam. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Nutrition Gough, Sarah M. Casella, Alicia Ortega, Kristen Jasmin Hackam, Abigail S. Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title | Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title_full | Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title_fullStr | Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title_full_unstemmed | Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title_short | Neuroprotection by the Ketogenic Diet: Evidence and Controversies |
title_sort | neuroprotection by the ketogenic diet: evidence and controversies |
topic | Nutrition |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8650112/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34888340 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.782657 |
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