Ketogenic diet versus gluten free casein free diet in autistic children: a case-control study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a gluten-free casein-free (GFCF) diet could improve autistic manifestations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as measured by neurological examination and standardized autism assessment scales.
Results Summary
The GFCF diet group showed significant improvement in Autism Treatment Evaluation Test (ATEC) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores compared to the control group, though the ketogenic diet group scored better in cognition and sociability. The study notes limitations including small sample size and the need for larger-scale studies to confirm results.
Population
45 children aged 3-8 years diagnosed with ASD based on DSM-5 criteria, divided into three groups (ketogenic diet, GFCF diet, and control).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
6 months
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ketogenic diet as modified Atkins diet (MAD) | decrease | ATEC and CARS scores | children aged 3-8 years diagnosed with ASD | - | showed significant improvement | #1 |
gluten free casein free (GFCF) diet | decrease | ATEC and CARS scores | children aged 3-8 years diagnosed with ASD | - | showed significant improvement | #2 |
ketogenic diet as modified Atkins diet (MAD) | increase | cognition and sociability | children aged 3-8 years diagnosed with ASD | - | scored better results | #3 |
modified Atkins diet | decrease | autistic manifestations | children with ASD | - | may safely improve | #4 |
gluten free casein free diet | decrease | autistic manifestations | children with ASD | - | may safely improve | #5 |
UNLABELLED: Many diet regimens were studied for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) over the past few years. Ketogenic diet is gaining attention due to its proven effect on neurological conditions like epilepsy in children. Forty-five children aged 3-8 years diagnosed with ASD based on DSM-5 criteria were enrolled in this study. Patients were equally divided into 3 groups, first group received ketogenic diet as modified Atkins diet (MAD), second group received gluten free casein free (GFCF) diet and the third group received balanced nutrition and served as a control group. All patients were assessed in terms of neurological examination, anthropometric measures, as well as Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Autism Treatment Evaluation Test (ATEC) scales before and 6 months after starting diet. Both diet groups showed significant improvement in ATEC and CARS scores in comparison to control group, yet ketogenic scored better results in cognition and sociability compared to GFCF diet group. Depending on the parameters measured in our study, modified Atkins diet and gluten free casein free diet regimens may safely improve autistic manifestations and could be recommended for children with ASD. At this stage, this study is a single center study with a small number of patients and a great deal of additional wide-scale prospective studies are however needed to confirm these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN-CTR Study Design: trial Number UMIN000021433.