You may want to read this Adam: http://www.waynerad.com/NutritionReviewsKetones.pdf
July 6, 2000 - Study Warns of Potential Dangers of Ketogenic Diet May Lead to Life-Threatening Heart Problems
CINCINNATI -- A new study published in the Journal of Neurology warns of potential dangers of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet sometimes used to treat epileptic seizures. The study, conducted by physicians at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, indicates children on the ketogenic diet may be at risk for developing potentially life-threatening heart problems.
The ketogenic diet was designed in the 1920s as a treatment option for those with intractable epilepsy -- seizures that didn't respond to standard medications. The diet produces a state in the body that simulates starvation. It is based on the belief that starvation and dehydration can reduce the frequency of seizures.
Until now, the diet was thought to have few side effects. But the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati researchers initiated a study after a 5-year-old patient on the diet developed dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged, poorly functioning heart muscle) and a prolonged QT interval (an electrical abnormality that can lead to a fast heart rhythm and sudden death).
The researchers found that out of 21 children on the ketogenic diet, 15 percent had these abnormalities. When taken off of the diet, the problems went away.
The problems may be related to a substance called beta-hydroxybutyrate and the high level of acid in the blood with which it is associated, according to Thomas Best, M.D., a physician in the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati Cardiology Division and the study's lead author.
Beta-hydroxybutyrate levels are higher in people on the ketogenic diet, and children with the highest levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate had the most severe heart problems.
"While it's too early to suggest patients should be taken off the diet completely, they should be followed closely with electrocardiograms and echocardiograms, which will detect the complications," says Dr. Best.
The research team at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati hopes to perform a larger study with more patients to get a better idea of how widespread the complications are and to determine the cause of the problems.
