Understanding How The Ketogenic Diet Suppresses Seizures

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 troublesome seizures cannot tolerate the ketogenic diet due to gastrointestinal distress. To that end, the researchers find that niacin, Vitamin B3, FDA-approved for cholesterol management, can also activate the HCAR2 receptor.Because hyperactive neurons are also a characteristic of other neurological disease including Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, HCAR2 receptor activation may have broader therapeutic applications.https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260116/Study-reveals-how-ketogenic-diet-protects-against-epilepsy-seizures.aspxhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ana.78098#ketogenicdiet #seizures #hcar2 #niacin