Clinical trial · Interventional
Use of the Atkins Diet for Children With Sturge Weber Syndrome
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This research is being done to find out if the Atkins Diet can be used safely and effectively to reduce seizures in children who have Sturge Weber syndrome. The ketogenic diet is a proven therapy for epilepsy, but can be difficult to use in children. The Atkins Diet is a high fat, high protein, low carbohydrate diet introduced in the 1970s to help with weight loss. It is different from the ketogenic diet in four major ways: no calorie restriction, no fluid restriction, no protein restriction, and is easy to start outside the hospital. People on the Atkins Diet become ketotic (produce high levels of ketones, a certain substance in the body), like patients on the ketogenic diet, and the investigators believe this may lead to seizure control. Children aged 2-18 with Sturge Weber syndrome and seizures at least monthly, who have used at least two anti-seizure drugs may join. 5 children in total will be enrolled.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epilepsy | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Sturge Weber Syndrome | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| modified Atkins diet | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- A
- description
- This is open-label - all patients are placed on the diet. There is no control or placebo arm.
- interventionNames
- Dietary Supplement: modified Atkins diet
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Seizures
- timeFrame
- 6 months
- description
- Seizure frequency will be compared to baseline (pre-Diet).
Secondary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Ketosis
- timeFrame
- 6 months
- measure
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 2 Years
- Maximum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * 2-18 years * Sturge Weber syndrome * Monthly seizures (at least) * Tried at least two anticonvulsants Exclusion Criteria: * Prior use of the Atkins or ketogenic diets * Patients with non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) will be excluded * Patients that are pregnant or become pregnant during the study will be excluded * High cholesterol
References
Publications (2)
- BACKGROUNDKossoff EH, Turner Z, Bluml RM, Pyzik PL, Vining EP. A randomized, crossover comparison of daily carbohydrate limits using the modified Atkins diet. Epilepsy Behav. 2007 May;10(3):432-6. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2007.01.012. Epub 2007 Feb 26. PMID 17324628
- BACKGROUNDKossoff EH, McGrogan JR, Bluml RM, Pillas DJ, Rubenstein JE, Vining EP. A modified Atkins diet is effective for the treatment of intractable pediatric epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2006 Feb;47(2):421-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00438.x. PMID 16499770