Type 1 diabetes and epilepsy: Efficacy and safety of the ketogenic diet

Diabetes type 1 seems to be more prevalent in epilepsy,and low-carbohydrate diets improve glycemic control indiabetestype2,butdataontheuseoftheclassicketogen-ic diet (KD) in epilepsy and diabetes are scarce. We pres-ent 15 months of follow-up of a 3 years and 6 months oldgirl with diabetes type 1 (on the KD), right-sided hemipa-resis, and focal epilepsy due to a malformation of corticaldevelopment. Although epileptiform activity on electro-encephalography (EEG) persisted (especially duringsleep), clinically overt seizures have not been reportedsince the KD. An improved activity level and significantdevelopmental achievements were noticed. Glycosylatedhemoglobin (HbA1c) levels improved, and glycemic con-trolwasexcellent,withoutseveresideeffects.Ourexperi-ence indicates that diabetes does not preclude the use oftheKD.KEY WORDS: Ketogenic diet, Epilepsy, Type 1 diabetes,Malformationofcorticaldevelopment.