Epilepsy Society: A
new study has highlighted the need to explore further genetic factors
which may increase our understanding of why some people with epilepsy
respond to ketogenic diet therapies while others don't. Ketogenic diet therapies are high in fat and low in carbohydrate and
switch the body's energy fuels from glucose to 'ketone bodies'. This is
particularly beneficial for those with glucose transporter type-1
deficiency syndrome (GLUT1-DS) where glucose is unable to cross the
blood-brain barrier into the brain. This deficiency is caused by
mutations in the gene SLC2A1.