Abstract
Although the mechanisms underlying the anti-seizure effects of the high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) remain unclear, a long-standing question has been whether ketone bodies (i.e., β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate and acetone), either alone or in combination, contribute mechanistically. The traditional belief has been that while ketone bodies reflect enhanced fatty acid oxidation and a general shift toward intermediary metabolism, they are not likely to be the key mediators of the KD's clinical effects, as blood levels of β-hydroxybutyrate do not correlate consistently with improved seizure control. Against this unresolved backdrop, new data support ketone bodies as having anti-seizure actions. Specifically, β-hydroxybutyrate has been shown to interact with multiple novel molecular targets such as histone deacetylases, hydroxycarboxylic acid receptors on immune cells, and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Clearly, as a diet-based therapy is expected to render a broad array of biochemical, molecular, and cellular changes, no single mechanism can explain how the KD works. Specific metabolic substrates or enzymes are only a few of many important factors influenced by the KD that can collectively influence brain hyperexcitability and hypersynchrony. This review summarizes recent novel experimental findings supporting the anti-seizure and neuroprotective properties of ketone bodies.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 233-241 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Neuropharmacology |
| Volume | 133 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1 2018 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Pharmacology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Cite this
Do ketone bodies mediate the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet? / Simeone, Timothy; Simeone, Kristina A.; Stafstrom, Carl E.; Rho, Jong M.
In: Neuropharmacology, Vol. 133, 01.05.2018, p. 233-241.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Do ketone bodies mediate the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet?
AU - Simeone, Timothy
AU - Simeone, Kristina A.
AU - Stafstrom, Carl E.
AU - Rho, Jong M.
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - Although the mechanisms underlying the anti-seizure effects of the high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) remain unclear, a long-standing question has been whether ketone bodies (i.e., β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate and acetone), either alone or in combination, contribute mechanistically. The traditional belief has been that while ketone bodies reflect enhanced fatty acid oxidation and a general shift toward intermediary metabolism, they are not likely to be the key mediators of the KD's clinical effects, as blood levels of β-hydroxybutyrate do not correlate consistently with improved seizure control. Against this unresolved backdrop, new data support ketone bodies as having anti-seizure actions. Specifically, β-hydroxybutyrate has been shown to interact with multiple novel molecular targets such as histone deacetylases, hydroxycarboxylic acid receptors on immune cells, and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Clearly, as a diet-based therapy is expected to render a broad array of biochemical, molecular, and cellular changes, no single mechanism can explain how the KD works. Specific metabolic substrates or enzymes are only a few of many important factors influenced by the KD that can collectively influence brain hyperexcitability and hypersynchrony. This review summarizes recent novel experimental findings supporting the anti-seizure and neuroprotective properties of ketone bodies.
AB - Although the mechanisms underlying the anti-seizure effects of the high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) remain unclear, a long-standing question has been whether ketone bodies (i.e., β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate and acetone), either alone or in combination, contribute mechanistically. The traditional belief has been that while ketone bodies reflect enhanced fatty acid oxidation and a general shift toward intermediary metabolism, they are not likely to be the key mediators of the KD's clinical effects, as blood levels of β-hydroxybutyrate do not correlate consistently with improved seizure control. Against this unresolved backdrop, new data support ketone bodies as having anti-seizure actions. Specifically, β-hydroxybutyrate has been shown to interact with multiple novel molecular targets such as histone deacetylases, hydroxycarboxylic acid receptors on immune cells, and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Clearly, as a diet-based therapy is expected to render a broad array of biochemical, molecular, and cellular changes, no single mechanism can explain how the KD works. Specific metabolic substrates or enzymes are only a few of many important factors influenced by the KD that can collectively influence brain hyperexcitability and hypersynchrony. This review summarizes recent novel experimental findings supporting the anti-seizure and neuroprotective properties of ketone bodies.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.01.011
DO - 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.01.011
M3 - Review article
VL - 133
SP - 233
EP - 241
JO - Neuropharmacology
JF - Neuropharmacology
SN - 0028-3908
ER -