RESUMEN
The high fat, low carbohydrate, low protein ketogenic diet (KD) has been used to control refractory epilepsy in children since 1920, although its mechanism of action is unknown. Previous animal studies have shown that the KD can increase acute seizure threshold, but the effect of the KD on the process of epileptogenesis has not been studied. We tested the effect of an experimental KD on epileptogenesis in adult rats using the kainic acid (KA) model. P54 rats underwent KA-induced status epilepticus, followed by assignment to a control diet or a KD consisting of (by weight), 14% protein, 70% fat and no carbohydrate. KD-fed animals tolerated the diet and maintained ketosis. KD-fed rats had significantly fewer and briefer spontaneous recurrent seizures and less supragranular mossy fiber sprouting, although the degree of hippocampal pyramidal cell damage was similar in both groups. These results provide the first evidence that the KD retards epileptogenesis in an experimental model.
Asunto(s)
Grasas de la Dieta/farmacología , Ácido Kaínico/toxicidad , Cetosis , Fibras Musgosas del Hipocampo/efectos de los fármacos , Regeneración Nerviosa , Convulsiones/dietoterapia , Animales , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Masculino , Ratas , Ratas Sprague-Dawley , Recurrencia , Convulsiones/inducido químicamenteRESUMEN
At many beaver (Castor canadensis) sites at Allegany State Park in New York State, red maple (Acer rubrum) is the only or one of the few tree species left standing at the ponds' edges. The relative palatability of red maple (RM) was studied in three ways. (1) At seven beaver sites, the available and utilized trees were recorded and an electivity index (E) computed. Of 15 tree species, RM ranked second or fourth lowest. (2) In experiment I, RM, sugar maple (A. saccharum, SM), and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) logs were presented cafeteria style at 10 colonies. RM was the least preferred. (3) Bark of RM was extracted with solvents. Aspen logs were painted (experiment II) or soaked (experiment III) with this RM extract and presented to beaver cafeteria-style, along with aspen and RM controls. This treatment rendered aspen logs less palatable, indicating that a chemical factor had been transferred.