Abstract
The main purpose of the following study was the determination of elemental changes occurring within hippocampal formation as a result of high-fat and carbohydrate-restricted ketogenic diet (KD). To realize it, X-ray fluorescence microscopy was applied for topographic and quantitative analysis of P, S, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn and Se in hippocampal formations taken from rats fed with two different KDs and naive controls. The detailed comparisons were done for sectors 1 and 3 of the Ammon’s, the dentate gyrus and hilus of dentate gyrus. The results of elemental analysis showed that the KDs induced statistically significant changes in the accumulation of P, K, Ca, Zn and Se in particular areas of hippocampal formation and these alterations strongly depended on the composition of the diets. Much greater influence on the hippocampal areal densities of examined elements was found for the KD which was characterized by a lower content of carbohydrates, higher content of fats and increased proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. The levels of P, K and Zn decreased whilst those of Ca and Se increased as a result of the treatment with the KDs.
Highlights
Diets or metabolic therapies are often applied for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, migraine, brain damage, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases, autism, sleep disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, pain, depression and even cancer [1]
The most famous example of successful diet application against disorders of neurological nature is the use of the ketogenic diet (KD) in patients suffering from intractable epilepsy [2]
The quantitative elemental analysis was done for CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus (DG) and H hippocampal areas
Summary
Diets or metabolic therapies are often applied for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, migraine, brain damage, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases, autism, sleep disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, pain, depression and even cancer [1]. Epilepsy, being one of the oldest neurological disorders known to mankind and affecting individuals of all ages, is defined symptomatically by the appearance of spontaneous recurrent seizures [3]. A great body of evidence shows that KD is a broadly effective treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy [5,6,7,8,9]. This high-fat, low-carbohydrate and usually low-protein diet is mostly used to treat pediatric epilepsies but has satisfactory results in adolescents and adults [10,11,12,13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
