Effect of Ketogenic Diet on Serum Levels of Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-1β in Pediatric Patients with Drug-resistant Epilepsy (1750)

Objective: To evaluate the effect of KD on serum levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in pediatric patients with DRE. Background: Proinflammatory cytokines play a vital role in epileptogenesis. They are overexpressed in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Among the proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6(IL-6) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) are the most widely explored targets for antiepileptic drug (AED) discovery. We investigated the effect of ketogenic diet (KD), one of the oldest treatments for uncontrolled seizures, on serum IL-6 and IL-1β levels. Design/Methods: A total of 31 patients (mean age=5.47 +4.75 years) diagnosed with DRE were enrolled in KD programme over a period of two years. Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases were excluded. Blood samples were collected before the initiation of KD and one year after KD initiation. Serum levels of IL-6 and IL-1β were measured by ELISA. Statistical analyses were performed using Easy R (EZR) software. Results: KD resulted in a significant reduction in serum IL-6 level from 85.26±8.89 pg/ml to 74.87 ± 9.60 pg/ml (p Conclusions: KD caused significant lowering of serum IL-6 and IL-1β levels in patients with DRE. Proinflammatory cytokine downregulation might be one of the antiepileptic mechanisms of KD. Disclosure: Dr. Thambi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Prabhu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Radhakrishnan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Unnikrishnan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nathan has nothing to disclose.