Ketogenic diet and Neuroinflammation

Abstract The high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) is an established treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy with a proven efficacy. The KD is being explored for Febrile Infeciton-Related Epilepsy Syndrome (FIRES) and epileptic encephalopathies. There is growing evidence that KD works by targeting dysregulated adaptive and innate immunity that occurs in drug-resistant epilepsy and in refractory status epilepticus. Beyond epilepsy, there are yet additional potential uses in neurological disorders because KD appears to have the broad anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. The KD exerts anti-inflammatory action against a variety of experimental models of neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, pain, and spinal cord injury. Anti-inflammatory action of KD appears to be mediated by multiple mechanisms. Ketones bodies, caloric restriction, polyunsaturated fatty acids and gut microbiota modifications might be involved in the modulation of inflammation by the KD.