Research progress of ketone bodies in ketogenic diet therapy of epilepsy

Ketogenic dietary therapy (KDT) is a kind of formulated diet with high fat, low carbohydrates, and appropriate protein and other nutrients, which is mainly used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy in children.The main metabolic change in the body during KDT is the production of a large number of ketone bodies which can not only provide energy, but also plays an important role in inhibiting the transmission of abnormal excitatory signals in the brain.However, the anti-epileptic mechanism of ketone bodies in KDT is still not very clear.Some clinical studies have found that the level of blood ketone is inconsistent with the effect of epilepsy control.The latest progress of research on the synthesis, monitoring, effective concentration range and the relationship with efficacy of ketone bodies in ketogenic diet therapy are reviewed in this article, in order to provide reference blood ketone range in clinical ketogenic diet. Key words: Ketone bodies; Ketogenic dietary therapy; Epilepsy