Effect of ketogenic diet on seizures, electroencephalogram and neurobehavioral development in children with epilepsy / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effects of ketogenic diet on seizures, electroencephalogram(EEG) changes and neurobehavioral development in children diagnosed with epilepsy.Methods:A total of 122 children diagnosed with spastic epilepsy in Nanyang Central Hospital from March 2016 to March 2019 were enrolled.The patients were divided into the observation group and the control group, by the computerized random number table method with 61 cases in each group.The children in the control group were treated with conventional therapy, and the children in the observation group were combined with the ketogenic diet on the basis of conventional treatment.The Gesell developmental schedules scale scores were compared between the two groups to evaluate seizure control and EEG improvement.Results:The seizure control in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group [78.69%(48/61 cases) vs.54.10%(33/61 cases)], and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 12.114, P <0.05). The EEG improvement in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group [81.97%(50/61 cases) vs.55.74%(34/61 cases)], and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=13.623, P<0.05). After 12 months of treatment, the children in the observation group had significantly higher fitness, gross motor, fine motor, language, and personal social, and total development quotient scores than the control group [(56.64±13.29) scores vs.(46.04±12.86) scores, (54.84±12.18) scores vs.(47.62±11.91) scores, (54.44±10.70) scores vs.(44.31±11.56) scores, (51.48±12.99) scores vs.(42.04±11.18) scores, (57.88±11.04) scores vs.(47.42±13.16) scores, (275.28±54.71) scores vs.(227.42±55.79) scores], the differences were statistically significant ( t=5.997, 5.887, 6.003, 5.889, 6.007, 6.010, all P<0.05). Conclusion:The ketogenic diet can significantly reduce seizures, improve EEG and neurobehavioral development in children with epilepsy.