1
|
Shahpasand S, Khatami SH, Ehtiati S, Alehossein P, Salmani F, Toutounchi AH, Zarei T, Shahmohammadi MR, Khodarahmi R, Aghamollaii V, Tafakhori A, Karima S. Therapeutic potential of the ketogenic diet: A metabolic switch with implications for neurological disorders, the gut-brain axis, and cardiovascular diseases. J Nutr Biochem 2024; 132:109693. [PMID: 38880191 DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2024.109693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
The Ketogenic Diet (KD) is a dietary regimen that is low in carbohydrates, high in fats, and contains adequate protein. It is designed to mimic the metabolic state of fasting. This diet triggers the production of ketone bodies through a process known as ketosis. The primary objective of KD is to induce and sustain ketosis, which has been associated with numerous health benefits. Recent research has uncovered promising therapeutic potential for KD in the treatment of various diseases. This includes evidence of its effectiveness as a dietary strategy for managing intractable epilepsy, a form of epilepsy that is resistant to medication. We are currently assessing the efficacy and safety of KD through laboratory and clinical studies. This review focuses on the anti-inflammatory properties of the KD and its potential benefits for neurological disorders and the gut-brain axis. We also explore the existing literature on the potential effects of KD on cardiac health. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge in these areas. Given the encouraging preliminary evidence of its therapeutic effects and the growing understanding of its mechanisms of action, randomized controlled trials are warranted to further explore the rationale behind the clinical use of KD. These trials will ultimately enhance our understanding of how KD functions and its potential benefits for various health conditions. We hope that our research will contribute to the body of knowledge in this field and provide valuable insights for future studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sheyda Shahpasand
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyyed Hossein Khatami
- Student Research Committee, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sajad Ehtiati
- Student Research Committee, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Parsa Alehossein
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farzaneh Salmani
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran
| | - Alireza Haghbin Toutounchi
- Department of general surgery,Imam Hosein medical and educational center, Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Tayebe Zarei
- Clinical Trial Department, Behbalin Co., Ltd., Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Shahmohammadi
- Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of Excellence, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Khodarahmi
- Medical Biology Research Center, Research Institute for Health Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Vajiheh Aghamollaii
- Neurology Department, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abbas Tafakhori
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Neuroscience Institute, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saeed Karima
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chrysafi M, Jacovides C, Papadopoulou SK, Psara E, Vorvolakos T, Antonopoulou M, Dakanalis A, Martin M, Voulgaridou G, Pritsa A, Mentzelou M, Giaginis C. The Potential Effects of the Ketogenic Diet in the Prevention and Co-Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder: From the Basic Research to the Clinical Practice. Nutrients 2024; 16:1546. [PMID: 38892480 PMCID: PMC11174630 DOI: 10.3390/nu16111546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ketogenic diet (KD) has been highly developed in the past for the treatment of epileptic pathological states in children and adults. Recently, the current re-emergence in its popularity mainly focuses on the therapy of cardiometabolic diseases. The KD can also have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities which may be applied to the prevention and/or co-treatment of a diverse range of psychiatric disorders. PURPOSE This is a comprehensive literature review that intends to critically collect and scrutinize the pre-existing research basis and clinical data of the potential advantageous impacts of a KD on stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. METHODS This literature review was performed to thoroughly represent the existing research in this topic, as well as to find gaps in the international scientific community. In this aspect, we carefully investigated the ultimate scientific web databases, e.g., PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, to derive the currently available animal and clinical human surveys by using efficient and representative keywords. RESULTS Just in recent years, an increasing amount of animal and clinical human surveys have focused on investigating the possible impacts of the KD in the prevention and co-treatment of depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Pre-existing basic research with animal studies has consistently demonstrated promising results of the KD, showing a propensity to ameliorate symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. However, the translation of these findings to clinical settings presents a more complex issue. The majority of the currently available clinical surveys seem to be moderate, usually not controlled, and have mainly assessed the short-term effects of a KD. In addition, some clinical surveys appear to be characterized by enormous dropout rates and significant absence of compliance measurement, as well as an elevated amount of heterogeneity in their methodological design. CONCLUSIONS Although the currently available evidence seems promising, it is highly recommended to accomplish larger, long-term, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trials with a prospective design, in order to derive conclusive results as to whether KD could act as a potential preventative factor or even a co-treatment agent against stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Basic research with animal studies is also recommended to examine the molecular mechanisms of KD against the above psychiatric diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Chrysafi
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Constantina Jacovides
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece; (S.K.P.); (G.V.); (A.P.)
| | - Sousana K. Papadopoulou
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece; (S.K.P.); (G.V.); (A.P.)
| | - Evmorfia Psara
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Theophanis Vorvolakos
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece;
| | - Marina Antonopoulou
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Antonios Dakanalis
- Department of Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via G.B. Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, Italy;
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan Bicocca, Via Cadore 38, 20900 Monza, Italy
| | - Mato Martin
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Gavriela Voulgaridou
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece; (S.K.P.); (G.V.); (A.P.)
| | - Agathi Pritsa
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece; (S.K.P.); (G.V.); (A.P.)
| | - Maria Mentzelou
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Constantinos Giaginis
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (M.C.); (C.J.); (E.P.); (M.A.); (M.M.); (M.M.)
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kumar M, Bhatt B, Gusain C, Mahajan N, Bishnoi M. Sex-specific effects of ketogenic diet on anxiety-like behavior and neuroimmune response in C57Bl/6J mice. J Nutr Biochem 2024; 127:109591. [PMID: 38311044 DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2024.109591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
The ketogenic diet (KD) has been shown to reduce anxiety and enhance cognitive functions in neurological diseases. However, the sex-specific effects of KD on anxiety-like behavior in healthy individuals and the underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to these effects, including neuroinflammation, are unelucidated. This study investigated the sex-specific effects of KD on anxiety-like behavior and the neuroimmune response in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus of healthy C57BL/6J male and female mice. Animals were fed either a control diet (CD- 17% fat, 65% carb, 18% protein) or a KD (80% fat, 5% carb, 15% protein) for 4 weeks. KD increased the levels of circulating β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) both in males and females. However, PFC BHB levels were found to be elevated only in KD males. Moreover, KD did not affect the behavior of females but improved motor abilities and reduced anxiety levels in males. KD suppressed the mRNA expression of the pan microglial markers (Cd68, P2ry12) and induced morphological changes in the male PFC microglia. A sex-specific decrease in IL1β and an increase in IL-10 levels was found in the PFC of KD males. A similar trend was observed in the hippocampus of males where KD reduced the mRNA expression of P2ry12, Il1β, and cFos. Additionally, BHB increased the production of IL-10 whereas it decreased the production of IL1β from human microglia in in-vitro conditions. In summary, these results demonstrate that the anxiolytic and motor function enhancement abilities of KD are male-specific. Reduced pro-inflammatory and improved anti-inflammatory factors in the male PFC and hippocampus may underlie these effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohit Kumar
- Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods, Food & Nutrition Biotechnology Division, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, S.A.S Nagar, Sector 81 (Knowledge City), Punjab, India; Adjunct faculty, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana, India.
| | - Babita Bhatt
- Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods, Food & Nutrition Biotechnology Division, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, S.A.S Nagar, Sector 81 (Knowledge City), Punjab, India
| | - Chitralekha Gusain
- Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods, Food & Nutrition Biotechnology Division, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, S.A.S Nagar, Sector 81 (Knowledge City), Punjab, India
| | - Nayan Mahajan
- Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods, Food & Nutrition Biotechnology Division, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, S.A.S Nagar, Sector 81 (Knowledge City), Punjab, India
| | - Mahendra Bishnoi
- Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods, Food & Nutrition Biotechnology Division, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, S.A.S Nagar, Sector 81 (Knowledge City), Punjab, India
| |
Collapse
|