A Study on the Age-Dependent Ketosis Induced by the Ketogenic Diet / 대한간질학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Ketogenic diet (KD) remains a therapy in search of explanation although it is an established treatment for patients with intractable epilepsy. It has been clinically proven more efficacious at younger ages, presumably because of the enhanced ability of the immature brain to extract and utilize ketone bodies. The study was designed to investigate whether ketosis induced by the KD is age-dependent. METHODS: A KD ([fat]:[protein+carbohydrate] ratio of 4.3:1) was administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 3 weeks, while control animals were fed a standard rodent chow. Dietary treatment was initiated at either postnatal 3 or 12 weeks. Blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) levels were assayed from blood obtained via the tail vein with the Keto-SiteTM reflectance meter and test cards on treatment day 21. RESULTS: Blood BHB levels in the KD-treated group were significantly higher than those in the control group in 3 week-old rats (4.18+/-0.62 [n=30] vs. 0.27+/-0.02 [n=30] mM, respectively; p0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that the KD induces more severe ketosis in younger rats. Age-dependent differences in the degree of ketosis induced by the KD may explain that the diet is clinically more efficacious at younger ages.