What are epilepsy syndromes?

Epilepsy syndromes are specific syndromes that are associated with one or more seizure types. About half of children who have epilepsy are diagnosed with an epilepsy syndrome. The remaining 50% do not fit the description of currently described epilepsy syndromes.

In 2008, a consensus statement was published in the medical journal Epilepsia. This report summarized guidelines for prescribing and managing diet therapies for epilepsy in children. The report also listed epilepsy syndromes or conditions for which there is documented evidence of benefit from the ketogenic diet. Epilepsia. 2009;50(2):304-317.

• Children receiving only formula (bottle-fed or feeding tubes)
• Glucose transporter protein 1 (GLUT-1) deficiency
• Glycogenosis type V
• Infantile spasms
• Landau-Kleffner syndrome
• Lafora body disease
• Myoclonic-astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome)
• Pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency (PDHD)
• Rett syndrome
• Selected mitochondrial disorders
• Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (Dravet syndrome)
• Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)
• Tuberous sclerosis complex

Are there other syndromes & conditions that have been shown benefit from the diet?

• Aicardi syndrome
• Alzheimer disease
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Autism
• Brain tumors (glioblastomas)
• Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (epilepsy syndrome)
• Migraine
• Parkinson's disease