KETOGENIC DIET AS ANTIEPILEPTIC THERAPY: ADMINISTRATION AND FORMULAS

AGATA MALTESE¹, MARGHERITA SALERNO², PALMIRA ROMANO³, ANNACLAUDIA RICCIARDI³, TERESA DI FILIPPO¹, GABRIELE TRIPI^4,5

¹Department of Psychological, Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy - ²Sciences for Mother and Child Health Promotion, University of Palermo, Italy - ³Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental Health and Physical and Preventive Medicine, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Italy - ⁴Department PROSAMI, University of Palermo, Italy - ⁵Childhood Psychiatric Service for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, CH Chinon, France

In 1921 Wilder defined classical cholesterol diet providing the patient with a daily calorie intake of less than 20% compared to age-related requirements. The main macronutrient is represented by saturated and long chain unsaturated fatty acids, in the ratio of 4: 1 to carbohydrates and proteins (4 grams of lipids per gram of carbohydrates and proteins). One of the first therapeutic protocols proposed is that of John Hopkins that the onset of the diet should take place in a hospital environment to assess the patient's response in a controlled situation.