[News] Ketocal for emergency: when meds don't help to stop a status

[Dutch mom]

http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/keto_news_nov09

When faced with a seizure that is going on for prolonged periods, neurologists are forced to often consider intravenous medications to break what is called “status epilepticus”. This terrifying but infrequent situation can occur to almost any patient with epilepsy, and requires emergency intervention often in an intensive care unit. Medications typically used are phenytoin (Dilantin), lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium), and phenobarbital. Fortunately, most of the time these medications work quickly and the seizure stops, but sometimes it doesn’t, requiring high doses of sedating anticonvulsants to create a planned comatose state. Even then, seizures may not stop. What should a neurologist do then?
[...]
A new article, just published by Dr. Wusthoff from Philadelphia this month in Epilepsia, continues to add evidence that diets can help status epilepticus which has not responded to medications. They report the results from using KetoCal™ formula in two adults (ages 29 and 34 years) who had nonconvulsive status epilepticus for 101 and 18 days, respectively. Both improved after just over a week of treatment and stayed on the ketogenic diet for at least one year according to the article.