New diet may treat seizures in children

At the age of six, Isabella O'Brien's severe epilepsy prevented her from ever muttering more than a few words.

But just four days after starting an age-old, high fat diet, her seizures vanished and she sang her parents a Spice Girls song from start to finish.

The 80-year-old Ketogenic Diet is changing the lives of epileptic children who have constant seizures jerking their bodies.

Melbourne's Austin Hospital has established the Ketogenic Diet Program to help determine which epileptic patients respond to the diet and which suffer its possible side-effects.

The program will focus on children and may eventually be expanded to adults.

Paediatric epileptologist Professor Ingrid Scheffer said the diet was established in the 1920s but fell out of favour in the 1970s with the development of anti-epileptic medications.

But about 20 per cent of epileptics - usually the most severe sufferers - do not respond to medication, and are prime candidates for the diet.

Prof Scheffer said the diet had been used at the Royal Children's Hospital for several years and results from those patients had so far shown there were no side-effects.

The diet is medically controlled and is high in fat, low in carbohydrate and has moderate protein levels.

A typical day could include an egg-nogg drink and omelette with ham and cheese, a chicken and vegetable stir-fry and a snack of strawberries.

Lollies, chips and other kids' snacks are strictly out.

Prof Scheffer said many patients were not given the option of the diet until they had tried five or six different drugs without success.

She said she believed the diet should be introduced after two drug attempts were deemed unsuccessful.

Prof Scheffer said 50 per cent of children on the diet had a 50 per cent reduction in seizures.
But she said in 30 per cent of children, their seizures reduced by 90 per cent.

"Being seizure-free changes a child's life, and their family's," she said.

Now 11, Isabella, who has myoclonic-astatic epilepsy, was on the diet for two years and three years later is still 95 per cent improved.

Her mother, Gabrielle O'Brien, said she was now virtually free of the seizures that forced her to hear a protective helmet, although her early problems meant she was developmentally delayed.
"She could lead a normal life. She went back to school and functioned beautifully," she said.
"If parents know about it earlier, then they can prevent developmental delays and hopefully get on top of the epilepsy sooner."