Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Understanding How The Ketogenic Diet Suppresses SeizuresVidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DUmOnBlD1tp/The ketogenic diet forces the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates and produces molecules called ketones including β-hydroxybutyrate. This particular ketone reduces seizures by activating a brain receptor called HCAR2. Neurologists at the UVA Brain Institute, using a preclinical mouse model, now report this finding in the Archives of Neurology.The activated HCAR2 receptor suppresses the electrical activity of otherwise hyper-excitable neurons. This is particularly true in the hippocampus where many seizures initiate. This receptor also has a suppressing effect on immune cells within the brain that trigger inflammation and resultant neurological disease.Understanding the mechanism by which the ketogenic diet controls otherwise drug-resistant seizures opens the door for development of therapy that bypasses the need for the ketogenic diet. This is important since many children and adults with troublesom