Ketogenic diet prevents seizure and reduces myoclonic jerks in rats with cardiac arrest-induced cerebral hypoxia

Although the mechanism underlying the anti-epileptic effects of a ketogenic diet (KD) is not known, KD is reported to be an effective treatment for intractable epilepsy, in particular among children. Here, we evaluated whether a KD can reduce posthypoxic seizure and myoclonic jerks in a rat model of cardiac arrest-induced cerebral hypoxia. In this study, rats were divided into two groups: one group received a normal diet while the other group was fed a KD for 25 days before being subjected to cardiac arrest-induced cerebral hypoxia. We found that rats fed a normal diet developed seizures and severe myoclonic jerks in response to auditory stimuli after the hypoxic insults, whereas the rats on the KD did not develop seizure and showed much less severe myoclonic jerks in response to auditory stimuli. The results suggested that the KD has beneficial effects against posthypoxic seizure and myoclonus.