Electronic Telegraph UK News
   ISSUE 2228 Sunday 1 July 2001

   High-fat diet 'can control epilepsy among children'
   By Lorraine Fraser

   A DIET laden with butter, cream and mayonnaise can play a key role in
   treating - and perhaps even curing - epilepsy in children, say leading
   specialists.

   Paediatricians at three centres are to begin a study of high-fat diets
   in children whose seizures cannot be controlled by drugs. Doctors hope
   that the "alternative" treatment will eventually become widely
   available on the health service.

   Researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the
   Central Middlesex Hospital, both in London, and the National Centre
   for Young People with Epilepsy, in Lingfield, Surrey, are to test the
   benefits on 120 children.

   Instead of a mixed diet, where much of the energy intake comes from
   carbohydrates, the children will be prescribed a calorie-controlled
   eating plan, containing large amounts of fat. Vitamins and minerals
   are supplied through supplements.

   A typical meal for a child in the study might be: 32g of roast
   chicken, 30g carrots, 39ml double cream and 23g butter. A slightly
   less-regulated diet - with fat given as a drink or medicine - will
   also be tested.

   Research suggests that such diets can cut the number of seizures by 90
   per cent or more in a third of children with severe epilepsy, while a
   further fifth of patients may see their seizure rate halved. These
   youngsters often suffer scores of fits every day, so the potential
   impact on their lives is huge. Many on the high-fat diet can also be
   weaned off drugs - reducing the risk of side-effects.

   The idea stems from a discovery made almost a century ago when doctors
   found that epileptic children had fewer or, in some cases, no
   seziures, if they were starved - forcing them to live off their
   reserves of body fat. The idea developed that a diet based on ketones
   (the breakdown products of fat) could mimic the metabolic changes of
   starvation and produce the same effects.

   Scientists are still not clear why a "ketogenic" diet can reduce the
   frequency of fits. However, Helen Cross, a consultant paediatrician at
   Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Ruby Schwartz, a specialist at the
   Central Middlesex Hospital, believe that the treatment has great
   potential. Dr Cross said: "Once the child becomes established on the
   ketogenic diet and their body adjusts, the effects can be dramatic."

   Dr Schwartz said that youngsters on the diet did not become fat
   because their calorie intake was controlled, while their growth,
   development and well being often improved enormously. She said: "It's
   not for everyone, and parents have to be dedicated, but when it works,
   it's fantastic."

   One of Dr Schwartz's patients is three-year-old Phoebe Robinson. Two
   years ago she was diagnosed with Lennox Gasteaux syndrome, a severe
   form of epilepsy. Initially, she suffered up to 80 seizures a day.
   Anti-epilepsy drugs had little impact on her condition, and Phoebe's
   parents, Robert and Emma, who run a farm at Milton Ernest,
   Bedfordshire, had to watch her deteriorate.

   Fifteen months ago, however, Phoebe was put on a "ketogenic" diet, and
   since then has made remarkable progress. She has not had a fit for
   almost eight months, and her daily dose of medication is now a
   fraction of what it once was. Her mother said: "She is now a happy
   little girl - smiling and laughing."