Dementia (major neurocognitive disorder) is an increasingly common syndrome with a significant burden on patients, caregivers, the health-care system, and the society. The prevalence of dementia will certainly continue to grow as the US population ages. Current treatments for dementia, though, are limited. A new review article published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology discusses the possible benefit of a ketogenic diet for the for the delay or prevention of dementia . The ketogenic diet was originally employed to treat refractory epilepsy and has shown promise in many neurologic diseases. It has also gained recent popularity for its weight loss effects. Several preclinical studies have confirmed a benefit of ketosis on cognition and systemic inflammation. Given the renewed emphasis on neuroinflammation as a pathogenic contributor to cognitive decline, and the decreased systemic inflammation observed with the ketogenic diet, it is plausible that this diet may delay, ameliorate, or prevent progression of cognitive decline. Several small human studies have shown benefit on cognition in dementia with a ketogenic diet intervention. Future, large controlled studies are needed to confirm this benefit; however, the ketogenic diet has shown promise in regard to delay or mitigation of symptoms of cognitive decline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
Post a comment
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.
Your Information
(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
Comments