Abstracts

The ketogenic diet is a well-proven anticonvulsant therapy, but its dietary restrictions can be occasionally limiting. The Atkins Diet does not have the calorie or protein restrictions of the ketogenic diet, and is used safely by millions of people worldwide. The Atkins Diet induces a ketotic state similar to the ketogenic diet and may be similarly beneficial for epilepsy and perhaps more tolerable.
Five patients, aged 7 to 50, were initiated on the Atkins Diet for the treatment of intractable focal and multifocal epilepsy. Patients had previously failed therapy with two or more anticonvulsants.
A 7-year-old female had 10-30 complex partial seizures and hundreds of absence seizures per day. She became seizure-free three days after initiating the Atkins Diet and has remains ketotic and seizure-free for two months of follow-up. A 10-year-old male had several absence seizures per month and was seizure-free after switching from the ketogenic diet to the Atkins Diet for the past four months. A 20-year-old female had daily complex partial seizures, which decreased to monthly auras during two years of follow-up. A 42-year-old male with Lennox Gastaut syndrome and daily atonic and myoclonic seizures maintained moderate ketosis for 14 weeks but had no seizure reduction. A 52-year-old male with daily atonic and complex partial seizures was unable to maintain ketosis due to poor dietary compliance and had no seizure reduction. Three patients remain on the Atkins Diet and are on reduced medications. Four patients were able to maintain moderate to large ketosis for a period of 2-24 months. One patient had hypercholesterolemia (245 mg/dl); none developed kidney stones.
Our pilot series demonstrates that the Atkins Diet can produce chronic ketosis and may be a well-tolerated alternative to the ketogenic diet for treating medically-resistant epilepsy.