Cardiovascular Risks of Ketogenic Diet for Glut-1 Deficiency

A Novel Intronic Variant in SLC2A1 Gene in a Saudi Patient with Myoclonic Epilepsy

Cerebral metabolism is primarily dependent on glucose for which a facilitated diffusion by glucose transporter protein 1 (GLUT1) across the blood-brain barrier is crucial. This GLUT1 is encoded by the SLC2A1 gene. Mutations in SLC2A1 will lead to a variety of symptoms known as GLUT1 deficiency syndrome. In this article, we report a novel heterozygous intronic variant c.1278+12delC in the SLC2A1 gene in a Saudi patient with myoclonic epilepsy. We also report a new clinical phenotype where the patient has pure myoclonic epilepsy with no focal, absence, or atonic seizures and normal developmental and cognitive functions that started in childhood rather than infancy. Our study enriches the mutation-spectrum of the SLC2A1 gene and stresses on the importance of whole-exome sequencing in the diagnosis of genetic epilepsies. Early diagnosis and initiation of a ketogenic diet are important goals for the successful management of patients with GLUT1 deficiency syndrome.

Ketogenic Diet and microRNAs Linked to Antioxidant Biochemical Homeostasis

Recently, we demonstrated the capability of the ketogenic diet (KD) to influence the microRNA (miR) expression profile. Here, we report that KD is able to normalize miR expression in obese subjects when compared with lean subjects. By applying two different bioinformatics tools, we found that, amongst the miRs returning to comparable levels in lean subjects, four of them are linked to antioxidant biochemical pathways specifically, and the others are linked to both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biochemical pathways. Of particular interest is the upregulation of hsa-miR-30a-5p, which correlates with the decrease of catalase expression protein in red blood cells.