High-Fat Diet's effect on epilepsy: scientists track brain signals
NCT ID NCT02216500
First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
About one in four children with seizures does not respond well to standard treatments. This study collects data from people whose doctors have prescribed the ketogenic diet, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen, to see how it affects brain electrical activity and metabolism. Researchers also track whether participants need fewer seizure medications over time. The goal is to understand how the diet works and how best to use it.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ketogenic therapy, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet
- What this could lead to
- If researchers learn how ketogenic therapy reduces seizures, doctors could tailor the diet more precisely and possibly lower medication doses for people with hard-to-treat epilepsy.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, so it cannot prove that the diet causes seizure reduction. The diet is demanding to follow, and some participants may struggle to stick with it, which could limit what researchers learn.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 400 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Start date
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Sep 2006
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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Up to 50 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients whose physician has prescribed the ketogenic diet * Patients with lab tests consistent with the ability to metabolize a high fat and low carbohydrate diet * Patients that can be compliant with administration of the therapy and with record keeping. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with lab tests consistent with the inability to metabolize a high fat and low carbohydrate diet * Patients at risk of being non-compliant with administration of the therapy and with record keeping
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Florida
RECRUITINGGainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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