Ketogenic Diets in Child Neurology – A Tale of 100 Years: What Does the Future Hold?

Course Description
As ketogenic diet completes a century of its use in child neurology, this symposium proposal will summarize the current and future perspectives of the use of ketogenic diet and its variants in epilepsy and other neurological disorders in children. The symposium will cover the recently published International consensus guidelines, the use of the diet in genetic and metabolic epilepsies, use in neurological disorders other than epilepsy, and new insights into the mechanism of action of the diet and implications for clinical utilization. The speakers include Dr Eric Kossoff (USA), Dr Helen Cross (UK), Dr Hoon-Chul Kang (South Korea) and Dr Suvasini Sharma (India).

As ketogenic diet completes a century of its use in child neurology, this symposium proposal will summarize the current and future perspectives of the use of ketogenic diet and its variants in epilepsy and other neurological disorders in children. The symposium will cover the recently published International consensus guidelines, the use of the diet in genetic and metabolic epilepsies, use in neurological disorders other than epilepsy, and new insights into the mechanism of action of the diet and implications for clinical utilization.

Learning Objectives

1. Be aware of the recent international consensus guidelines on the use of KD, and its uses in metabolic and genetic epilepsies and non- epilepsy neurodevelopmental conditions in children.
2. Understand the current thinking on the mechanisms of action of the diet, and how we can potentially use this to optimize patient outcomes.

Impact Statements

1. Early identification of childhood neurological conditions which are likely to respond to the ketogenic diet.
2. Awareness of the new International consensus guidelines for the use of ketogenic diet in children with epilepsy.

Organizer:
Suvasini Sharma, MD, DM; Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, New Delhi, India

Dietary Therapy at a Century: From Popularity to Obscurity and Back Again
Eric H. W. Kossoff, MD; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Ketogenic Diet in Genetic and Metabolic Epilepsies
Hoon-Chun Kang, MD, DM; Severance Children’s Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

New Insights into the Mechanisms of Action and Implications for Utilization
Helen Cross, MB, ChB, PhD; University College London, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK

Non-epilepsy Uses and Other Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet
Suvasini Sharma, MD, DM