Epilepsy Treatment and Metabolic Alteration

History of Epilepsy Treatment

• In the last century, surgical procedures involved removing the cerebral hemisphere where seizures were generated, but this method was not effective in controlling seizures.
• The ketogenic diet was once eliminated from treatment options, but it has been reconsidered as a potential solution.

Ketogenic Diet Hypothesis

• The hypothesis is that epilepsy is a metabolic alteration that can be treated with a ketogenic diet, which induces a state of ketosis.
• This diet is suitable for patients who are candidates for surgery and those with pharmacorefractory etiologies of any type.

Suitable Candidates

• Patients with congenital etiologies such as Angelman syndrome may benefit from the ketogenic diet.
• Those with symptomatic, cryptogenic, or tumor syndrome Tofico and Ohtahara etiologies can also benefit.
• The diet can be used for patients of any age.

History of the Ketogenic Diet

• Hippocrates reported in 400 BC that fasting could cure epilepsy in humans.
• The modern use of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for epilepsy began in 1921 with the work of Rollin Woodyatt and Dr. Stanley Cobb from Harvard Medical School.
• They found that glycolysis and beta-hydroxybutyrate were responsible for eliminating seizures in patients.

Development of the Ketogenic Diet

• The ketogenic diet has become part of several treatments for epilepsy in both medical and surgical fields.
• Despite early reports, it was not until the 20th century that the diet became a widely accepted treatment option.

This quiz covers the historical treatment of epilepsy, including surgical procedures and the ketogenic diet. It also touches on the idea that epilepsy may be a metabolic alteration.