Ketogenic Diets in Children With Intractable Epilepsy and its Effects on Gastrointestinal Function, Gut Microbiome, Inflammation, and Quality of LifeOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers compared children with intractable epilepsy on the ketogenic diet (KD) to children with intractable epilepsy on normal diets, examining gastrointestinal symptoms, growth, gut microbiome composition, inflammation, and quality of life.
How was it studied?
Fourteen children on the KD and 13 controls were assessed cross-sectionally using the PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptoms Module, growth z scores, gut microbiome sequencing, and the inflammation marker S100A12. The KD group had used the diet for a median of 15 months.
What did they find?
KD patients had significantly lower quality-of-life scores than controls (P = 0.01) and a trend toward more gastrointestinal symptoms (P = 0.06, not significant). KD patients showed lower microbial diversity and consistently lower growth z scores, but S100A12 inflammation levels were normal in both groups.
Why it matters
The findings suggest the ketogenic diet alters gut microbial diversity and lowers quality of life in children with intractable epilepsy, without producing detectable gut inflammation.