Keto diet as a cancer treatment? Researchers explore potential to treat diseases, seizures

b db
Dominic D'Agostino in his laboratory at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. Image: Tina Meketa
[S]cientists have known for decades that the keto diet can prevent epileptic seizures even when pharmaceutical treatments have failed. But the work of [Dominic] D’Agostino and a handful of other pioneering ketone researchers over the past decade has also led scientists at Harvard, Yale, and other top institutions to consider the diet’s potential to treat other diseases. … Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist and the author of The Emperor of All Maladies, a Pulitzer Prize–winning history of cancer science, is among those interested in whether the ketogenic diet could have a role in cancer therapy.

Most people struggle to stick with a ketogenic eating plan in the long term. If a synthetically formed ketone drink or pill could provide many of the possible benefits of the keto diet without someone having to give up bread forever, it could, in theory, be a huge medical leap.

D’Agostino wanted to study the effects of a diester, a molecule designed to elevate two different types of ketone bodies at once.

D’Agostino says that he now receives a request for the molecule from other scientists at least once a week. … Most studies are still being done with animals, but human trials for several different neurological conditions are now in the early stages.

Read full, original post: The Keto Diet’s Most Controversial Champion

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
skin microbiome x final

Infographic: Could gut bacteria help us diagnose and treat diseases? This is on the horizon thanks to CRISPR gene editing

Humans are never alone. Even in a room devoid of other people, they are always in the company of billions ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.