Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Funded Research Finds Gut Bacteria Play Critical Role in Anti-Seizure Effects of Ketogenic Diet
Research supported by funding from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and others has identified specific gut bacteria that play an essential role in the anti-seizure effects of the high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. The study, published in the journal Cell, is the first to establish a causal link between seizure susceptibility and the gut microbiota — the 100 trillion or so bacteria and other microbes that reside in the human body’s intestines.
The ketogenic diet has numerous health benefits, including fewer seizures for children with epilepsy who do not respond to anti-epileptic medications, said Elaine Hsiao, UCLA assistant professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College, and senior author of the study. However, there has been no clear explanation for exactly how the diet aids children with epilepsy….