REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Neurology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1567095
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Insights into Pediatric Neurology: Neurological Disorders and Epileptic EncephalopathiesView all 8 articles
Progress of ketogenic diet in the treatment of developmental epileptic encephalopathy
Provisionally accepted
- Children's Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Ji nan, China
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Developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) is a severe neurological disorder caused by underlying genetic abnormalities and frequent epileptic activity. It is characterized by early-onset, drug-resistant epilepsy, abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) findings, and developmental delay or regression. DEE is associated with high rates of disability and mortality. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a well-established non-pharmacological treatment for refractory epilepsy and has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in several DEE subtypes. In certain cases, it may reduce or even eliminate the need for pharmacological interventions. This review discusses the current clinical application of KD in children with DEE and summarizes key factors influencing its therapeutic effectiveness.
Keywords: ketogenic diet1, Developmental epileptic encephalopathy2, Refractory epilepsy3, developmental delay4, Early-onset drug-refractory epilepsy5
Received: 26 Jan 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Li, Zhao, Zhang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lili Li, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Ji nan, China
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