The Effect of Ketogenic Diet on Fungal Infection

Abstract

he Ketogenic Diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and adequate-protein diet well-established as treatment option for drug resistant childhood epilepsies. The increase in fatty acid oxidation causes an increase in ketones production (Ketosis), mainly beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. Neutrophils are an important component of humans` innate phagocytic defense which usually arrive first at sites of infection and/or inflammation. Within neutrophils, the heme protein myeloperoxidase mediates the production of hypochlorous acid, which is a potent microbicidal compound that is inhibited by acetoacetate. From this we can conclude that acetoacetate inhibits neutrophil microbicidal activity and thus it might increase susceptibility to infections. The objectives of this study were to estimate the phagocytic index and correlate it to the level of ketosis in the studied patients, and assess the effect of ketosis induced by KD on neutrophils as regards their number and function. It was prospective case control study, in Nutrition Clinic, Ain Shams University, Children’s Hospital. The period of the study was from May 2018 till Decemberr 2019 and it involved 21 patients with refractory epilepsy. Nine age and sex matched healthy children was recruited as a control group.