Detrimental Effects of the Ketogenic Diet on Cognitive Function in Rats.

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

jmk - 16 Jan 2004 19:39 GMT

I ran across this article and found it to be interesting:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
4711901&dopt=Abstract

"KD-fed rats, with or without SE, had significantly impaired
visual-spatial learning and memory compared with rats that were fed
regular diet. The KD had minimal effects on activity level and
emotionality. Rats that were treated with the KD had significantly
impaired brain growth. No differences in pathology scores between the KD
and regular diet groups were seen after SE. Despite reducing the number
of spontaneous seizures after SE, the KD resulted in severe impairment
in visual-spatial memory and decreased brain growth, with no effect on
mossy fiber sprouting."

Signature

jmk in NC

Reply to this Message

Jeff - 17 Jan 2004 14:35 GMT

Can you explain how knowing this is supposed to help us?

The ketogenic diet is a rarely used diet, only, as far as I know, for
treating epilepsy in particular cases after drugs fail.

Jeff

Reply to this Message

southernman_ken - 17 Jan 2004 19:06 GMT

While the ketogenic described is extreme, similar diets are very
popular today - Atkins and other low carb programs. The inference is
that such cognitive effects may be associated with a number of
ketogenic diets.

While the cognitive effects of low carb/high protein (LC/HP) diets are
not established, LC/HP diets do cause increased calcium excretion and
bone loss.

> Can you explain how knowing this is supposed to help us?
>
> The ketogenic diet is a rarely used diet, only, as far as I know, for
> treating epilepsy in particular cases after drugs fail.
>
> Jeff

Reply to this Message

tcomeau - 17 Jan 2004 23:01 GMT

> I ran across this article and found it to be interesting:
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1
4711901&dopt=Abstract
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> in visual-spatial memory and decreased brain growth, with no effect on
> mossy fiber sprouting."

quote: "The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and
low-protein diet that is widely used to treat epilepsy in children."

None of the modern low-carb diets are low in protein, therefore it is
hard to see how this KD diet can be compared to atkins, the zone,
south beach or any other low-carb diet. Apples and oranges.

Also, this study is about the KD's effects on rats not humans. And it
is also ridiculously short in duration too. Hardly solid science.

TC

Reply to this Message

Tim Tyler - 18 Jan 2004 12:24 GMT

tcomeau <tunderbar@hotmail.com> wrote or quoted:

Re:

``Detrimental Effects of the Ketogenic Diet on Cognitive Function in Rats''

- http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=14711901

> Also, this study is about the KD's effects on rats not humans. And it
> is also ridiculously short in duration too. Hardly solid science.

Being "short term" doesn't matter much if the duration of the study was
long enough to produce an effect. In this case an effect was reported.

Signature

__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ tim@tt1lock.org Remove lock to reply.

Reply to this Message