Ketogenic diet and metabolic therapies : expanded roles in health and disease

## Abstract Ketogenic diets have been used to treat epilepsy for nearly a century. Alongside enduring clinical success with a ketogenic diet, metabolism’s critical role in health and in diseases in the central nervous system and throughout the body is increasingly appreciated. Furthermore, metabolism-based strategies have been proven equal or even superior to pharmacological treatments in specific cases and for specific diseases. Rather than causing unwanted off-target pharmacological side effects, addressing metabolic dysfunction can improve overall health simultaneously. Enduring interest in the ketogenic diet’s proven efficacy in stopping seizures and emerging efficacy in other disorders has fueled renewed efforts to determine key mechanisms and diverse applications of metabolic therapies. In parallel, multiple strategies are being developed to mobilize similar metabolic benefits without reliance on such a strict diet. Research interest in metabolic therapies has spread into laboratories and clinics of every discipline, and could yield entirely new classes of drugs and treatment regimens. This work is the first comprehensive scientific resource on the ketogenic diet, covering the latest research into the mechanisms, established and emerging applications, metabolic alternatives, and implications for health and disease. Experts in clinical and basic research share their research into mechanisms spanning from ion channels to epigenetics, their insights based on decades of experience with the ketogenic diet in epilepsy, and their evidence for emerging applications ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s disease to brain cancer. Ketogenic diets have been used to successfully treat epilepsy and stop seizures for nearly a century. When more traditional therapies, such as pharmacology, reach their limitations for treatment, the metabolic approach surpasses, targeting the overall physiology and homeostatic functions of the patient. Ketogenic Diet and Metabolic Therapies is the first comprehensive scientific resource on the ketogenic diet, covering the latest research including the biomedical mechanisms, established and emerging applications, metabolic alternatives, and implications for health and disease. Experts in clinical and basic research share their research into mechanisms spanning from ion channels to epigenetics, their insights based on decades of experience with the ketogenic diet in epilepsy, and their evidence for emerging applications ranging from autism to Alzheimer's disease to brain cancer. Research in metabolic therapies has spread into laboratories and clinics of every discipline, and is yielding to entirely new classes of drugs and treatment regimens. The book's editor, Susan A. Masino, brings her unique expertise in clinical and research neurology to the overall scope of this work. To further enhance the scope and quality of this one of a kind book, section editors Eric Kossoff, Jong Rho, Detlev Boison, and Dominic P. D'Agostino lend their oversight on their respective sections.