Thread by @KetoCounselor

Can a ketogenic diet help the symptoms of a hard-core neurodegenerative disorder like Huntington's disease? Let's see what a published case study found. 🧵 (1/16)

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, which produces a toxic protein that damages nerve cells in the brain. (2/16)

HD is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, meaning that a person only needs one copy of the mutated gene from either parent to develop the disease. (3/16)

HD typically develops in adulthood and can be fatal within 10-30 years after onset. This is NOT a chronic disease you develop from lifestyle factors. This is a real deal, true genetic disorder. (4/16) #genes

This rare neurodegenerative disorder causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the #brain, leading to movement, cognitive, and #behavioral problems. (5/16)

Mitochondria dysfunction in the brain and skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease. (6/16) #mitochondria

#Metabolic strategies like fasting and #ketogenic diets have been proposed to enhance brain and muscle metabolism and #mitochondria function in #HD patients. (7/16)

A 41-year-old man with progressive HD underwent a time-restricted #ketogenic diet (TRKD) for 48 weeks. Let's see what happened! (8/16)

Improvements were observed in his motor symptoms (52%), activities of daily living (28%), and composite Unified HD Rating Scale (cUHDRS) score (20%). (9/16)

For those that don't know, the cUHDRS is used to assess various aspects of Huntington's disease, including motor function, cognitive ability, behavior, and functional capacity, to monitor the effectiveness of treatments and interventions over time. (10/16)

The TRKD also resulted in significant improvements in HD-related behavior problems (apathy, disorientation, anger, and irritability improved by 50-100%) and mood-related quality of life (25%). (11/16)

However, #cognition did not improve in this case. The patient's weight remained stable, and there were no significant adverse effects. (12/16)

But holy cow, imagine the improvement experienced by the patient and his family with the reductions in the domains that did occur! (13/16)

This case study shows that a TRKD could provide benefits to patients with progressive, deteriorating HD, improving motor symptoms, daily living activities, cUHDRS score, most major HD-related behavior problems, and quality of life. (14/16)

The patient remains dedicated to his TRKD, and the diet continues to provide benefits for him and his family. Metabolic strategies like TRKD could offer a new approach for the management of HD. (15/16)

You can read this case study here. I want you to know that even if your issues have a true genetic disorder, a ketogenic diet might offer a reduction in your suffering. I want you to know all the ways you (or a loved one) can feel better. (16/16) frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…