title: The Short-Term Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Cardiac Ventricular Functions in Epileptic Children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our primary aim was to determine the short-term effects of a ketogenic diet on cardiac ventricular function in patients with refractory epilepsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-eight drug-resistant epileptic patients who were treated with a ketogenic diet were enrolled in this prospective study. Echocardiography was performed on all patients before beginning the ketogenic diet and after the sixth month of therapy. Two-dimensional, M-mode, color flow, spectral Doppler, and pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging measurements were performed on all patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age of the 32 patients was 45.5 months, and 22 (57.8%) of them were male. Body weight, height, and body mass index increased significantly at the sixth month of therapy when compared with baseline values (P < 0.05). Baseline variables assessed by conventional M-mode echocardiography showed no significant difference at month 6 (P > 0.05). Doppler flow indices of mitral annulus and tricuspid annulus velocity of patients at baseline and month 6 showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). Tricuspid annular E/A ratio was lower at month 6 (P < 0.05). Although mitral annulus tissue Doppler imaging studies showed no significant difference (P > 0.05), there was a decrease in Ea velocity and Ea/Aa ratio gathered from tricuspid annulus at month 6 compared with baseline (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A 6-month duration ketogenic diet does not impair left ventricular functions in children with refractory epilepsy; however, it may be associated with a right ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
authors: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. Electronic address: doksozonder@yahoo.com.
authors: Önder
authors: Ö
authors: Doksöz
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Kübra
authors: K
authors: Çeleğen
authors: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Orkide
authors: O
authors: Güzel
authors: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Ünsal
authors: Ü
authors: Yılmaz
authors: Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.
authors: Utku
authors: U
authors: Uysal
authors: Department of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Rana
authors: R
authors: İşgüder
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Mehmet
authors: M
authors: Çeleğen
authors: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Izmir Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Timur
authors: T
authors: Meşe
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D055423:Diet, Ketogenic; D000069279:Drug Resistant Epilepsy / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016276:Ventricular Function / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: cardiac function; children; epilepsy; ketogenic diet; ventricular function