Glucose-1 (GLUT-1) deficiency syndrome is an inborn error of metabolism caused by a mutation of the SLC2A1 gene (1). The resulting dysfunctional GLUT-1 protein causes inadequate amounts of glucose to be transported to the brain and results in neurologic disorders such as childhood intractable epilepsy (1). Although introduced nearly a century ago, the ketogenic diet has gained increasing popularity within the last decade to treat epileptic seizures, especially when minimal or no improvement is seen with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) (2). The diet is a very successful method of attenuating seizures and epileptic events. Many studies, like those discussed below, prove it is a highly effective approach to treating epilepsy.
The ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet