Effect of Dietary Ketosis On Alpha-Synuclein Accumulation

In these models, the ketogenic diet significantly reduced alpha-synuclein clumps -- the pathological hallmark of PD -- in the substantia nigra, a brain region that loses cells in Parkinson's.

michaeljfox.org/grant/effec...

[Bolt_Upright]

I have a FB friend whose husband went from RBD to PD cognition problems and his cognition is improving on extreme keto (20 grams of carbs a day) and exogenous ketones.

[Hidden in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Happy to hear that and not surprised. This video is super interesting.

(Listening to videos while working, juggle juggle!)

This is a neurology professor from CO.

I found him while researching uric acid.

youtu.be/hrgJTmoBhco(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

THE NEUROPROTECTIVE PROPERTIES OF CALORIE RESTRICTION, THE KETOGENIC DIET, AND KETONE BODIES

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[House2 in reply to Hidden]

futuremedicine.com/doi/full...

[Raphaekg]

Preclinical model: be wary of conclusions. In this animal model, rodents didn't produce neuromelanated neurons, something rendering them totally different than humans who uniquely get PD.

This is NOT to say that a ketogenic diet could still be useful in aging, insulin-resistant and undernourished brain. The ability for the brain to use ketones as a fuel source does not diminish with aging, although it's ability to utilize glucose does.

[JeanieBeanie]

But protein seriously affect the PD drugs from working on my husband and keto is mostly protein and fat. I have done it myself.

[Sydney75 in reply to JeanieBeanie]

That's my concern too and if you cheat at all you will gain weight.

[amykp in reply to Sydney75]

That depends entirely on the degree to which you cheat, and it's true with every diet, I suspect. I started keto when I was diagnosed with PD. I happened to be overweight, but I didn't care about that one way or the other--I was terrified by the diagnosis and wanted to give myself the best chance.

Over the course of seven years I lost about 60 pounds. I can't say I never cheated, though overall I'm fairly strict. The disease has been pretty good motivation! :o)

[Hidden in reply to JeanieBeanie]

drwillcole.com/ketotarian

Keto can be done with very little meat.

[amykp in reply to JeanieBeanie]

Keto is relatively low protein--you have to watch it carefully, in fact. That's because protein, like carbohydrates, is converted to sugar in the body. It's a slower process, but it still happens.

That's a huge misunderstanding a lot of folks have!

[JeanieBeanie in reply to amykp]

I lost 2 stone on it eating protein and very low carb and sugar. Think about it. You would not be full on salad and veggies. It's the protein that fills you. And the fats.

[amykp in reply to JeanieBeanie]

Sure. But high protein is not exactly keto--it's low carb. Ketones by definition are a specific breakdown product of fats only. If you want to understand why ketones specifically are thought to be neuroprotective, read this:blogs.scientificamerican.co....

I'm no longer doing this for weight loss--though that's a side effect (and I eat LOADS of fat.) I'm doing it to protect my brain.

[amykp]

Yeah. Actually, you can be a vegetarian pretty easily. Being a vegan would be tough, I imagine.

[JeanieBeanie in reply to amykp]

Vegans have carbs though.

[amykp in reply to JeanieBeanie]

Yeah, a lot I think.

[House2]

No question, keto diet improves my PD symptoms.

[Skidad]

What are the "models"? Live humans?

[amykp in reply to Skidad]

Yes.

It's hard to test the effects of a ketogenic diet on animals because their dietary requirements are different than ours. Cats, for example, eat almost no carbohydrate at all--that's their normal diet (I think, right?)

I'm not saying cats are a usual experimental animal, just that diet studies are tough in other species. Of course, they're hard in humans too, because you can't rule out placebo effects.

The thing is, there are physiological pathways that explain WHY a ketogenic diet would be neuroprotective. So it's not just a shot in the dark. Otherwise, I'd be suspicious too.