Can diet combined with medication reduce seizures?

According to a study published in the January 4, 2023, online edition of the American Academy of Neurology's medical journal Neurology, following a modified Atkins diet that is high in fat and low carbohydrates plus taking medications may reduce seizures
in people with difficult-to-treat epilepsy.

Manjari Tripathi, MD, diabetic diabetic and study author of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, said: "For people with drug-resistant epilepsy, or those who cannot find effective treatments to reduce seizures, it is encouraging to see that lifestyle changes can be combined with standard medical treatments to reduce the number of seizures
.
" "Our study found that this combination may reduce the odds of seizures by more than
half.
"

The modified Atkins diet is a combination of the Atkins diet and the ketogenic diet, which includes soy products, heavy cream, butter and oil, leafy greens and animal protein (including eggs, chicken, fish and bacon).

While the ketogenic diet has been shown to be effective in reducing seizures, its strict requirements and restrictions can make it difficult to follow
.

The study involved 160 adults and adolescents who had epilepsy for an average of more than 10 years and had at least 27 seizures
per month, despite taking an average of 4 antiepileptic drugs.
They were randomly assigned to receive either standard drug therapy alone or drugs plus a modified Atkins diet for six months
.

Participants recorded their seizures and diet
.
They got food lists, sample menus and recipes
.
Limit carbohydrate intake to 20 grams
per day.
The federal dietary guidelines recommend a daily intake of 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates
.

Six months later, the researchers found that 26 percent of those who received both medication and followed the modified Atkins diet had a seizure reduction of more than 50 percent, compared with just 3 percent
of those who received medication alone.
At the end of the study, four people in the diet group had no seizures, while none in the pure drug group had no seizures
.

The study also looked at quality of life, behavior, and side effects
at six months.
The group that received medication and followed the modified Atkins diet improved in all respects compared to the group that received only medication
.

Tripati noted that 33 percent of participants failed to complete the study due to poor tolerance to the
diet, lack of benefits, or inability to follow up in part due to COVID-19.
However, Tripati says the modified Atkins diet is better tolerated than the ketogenic diet
.

"While a modified Atkins diet may be an effective treatment for seizure control, further research is needed to identify genetic biomarkers and other factors
associated with this dietary response.
" "This may improve patient care
by encouraging targeted, precise early use of this diet.
"

One limitation of the study is that seizures are self-reported or reported by carers, so some seizures may not be reported
.

The research was supported
by the Ministry of Biotechnology, India.