Ketogenic Diet and PPARγ‎

Abstract

AbstractThe ketogenic diet (KD) is an effective therapy for many patients with refractory epilepsy. It engages a wide array of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory processes and improves mitochondrial functions that are thought to underlie its neuroprotective, antiseizure, and disease-modifying effects. Potential roles of ketone bodies in these mechanisms are discussed elsewhere in this volume. Here, we focus on the role of KD fatty acids as potential ligands for the nutritionally regulated nuclear transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). PPARγ regulates many of the pathways identified in the mechanism of the KD and, in recent years, has become a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases. This chapter reviews current knowledge concerning PPARγ in the brain, the evidence that PPARγ has neuroprotective and antiseizure properties, and the evidence suggesting that PPARγ may be involved in the antiseizure mechanisms of the KD.