In collaboration with University College London, Scientists from Royal Holloway have identified the specific fatty acids in a ketogenic diet that contain the potent antiepileptic effects. This could mean a huge breakthrough in ensuring the wellbeing of epileptic children and adults, as the high fat, low carbohydrate ketogenic diet is thought to mimic aspects of starvation, by forcing the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. The pill is thought to be better for your wellness, however, as it could control seizures without any of the negative side effects of the diet, such as constipation, hypoglycaemia, retarded growth and bone fractures.
According to Professor Robin Williams from the Centre of Biomedical Sciences at Royal Holloway, ‘This is an important breakthrough. The family of medium chain fatty acids that we have identified provide an exciting new field of research with the potential of identifying, stronger, and safer epilepsy treatments.’
This potential pill might not just replace the ketogenic diet, but other established epilepsy drugs too. Researchers found that the fatty acids outperformed an established epilepsy drug in controlling seizures and had far fewer side effects.
Professor Matthew Walker from the Institute of Neurology at University College London noted the vast potential this discovery has to the lives of many people: ‘Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide and approximately a third of these people have epilepsy that is not adequately controlled by our present treatments. This discovery offers a whole new approach to the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsies in children and adults.’
The findings of the specific fatty acids are currently subject to a patent application, but Royal Holloway stated that they are looking for commercial collaborators to work with to pursue the potential for developing the new pill.