Why does fasting reduce seizures?

Calorie restriction has long been associated with a reduction in seizures

"This study is the first step in understanding how dietary therapies treat epilepsy," said lead author Christopher J.

DEPDC5, mTOR and fasting

To link the relationship between diet and seizures, the researchers started

Finally, Yuskaitis and colleagues knew that a signal from a protein called DEEPDC5 could act as a brake on the mTOR path

"When we used an animal model that knocked out DEPDC5 in the brain, we found that we could reduce seizures

Amino acid sensing

In the new study, they showed in mouse epilepsy models that mTOR signaling in the brain weakened

Further studies have shown that the DEPDC5 protein can sense the presence of

"Amino acid sensing seems to be critical to the beneficial effects of fasting on seizures," Yuskaitis said

This could be done in a form that is lower in the diet, or block the absorption

Next step: Ketogenic diet

This research is just the first step

Yuskaitis said: "We hope this will help us discover other dietary therapies besides the ketogenic diet, which is sometimes difficult to follow

Such work may also provide a new perspective

"Using these rare genetic diseases, we are beginning to gain a basic understanding of the role of nutrients in brain function," said

The study was supported