The Long-Term Treatment of Drug-Resistant Migraine with the Modified Atkins Ketogenic Diet: A Single-Center, Retrospective Study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of the modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) in treating drug-resistant episodic or chronic migraine.
Results Summary
The study found significant reductions in migraine frequency, duration, intensity, and medication use after 6 and 12 months of MAD. Additionally, improvements in metabolic markers (BMI, hsPCR, diastolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, HOMA index) were observed without major adverse metabolic changes.
Population
52 patients diagnosed with episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
6 to 12 months
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | frequency of migraine episodes | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly decreased | #1 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | length of migraine episodes | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly decreased | #2 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | intensity of migraine episodes | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly decreased | #3 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | number of medications | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly decreased | #4 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | body mass index | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly reduced | #5 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | high sensitivity PCR | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly reduced | #6 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | diastolic blood pressure | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly reduced | #7 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | fasting plasma insulin | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly reduced | #8 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | decrease | HOMA index | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | significantly reduced | #9 |
modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) | no change | metabolic changes | episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients | - | no major metabolic changes were observed | #10 |
ketogenic diet (KD) | neutral | long-term treatment of drug-resistant migraine | drug-resistant migraine patients | - | effective and safe | #11 |
Despite advances in pharmacological therapies, migraine patients are often drug resistant. Further therapeutic options in this field are, therefore, desirable. Recent studies have highlighted the efficacy of ketogenic diet (KD) on improving migraine, but data on their long-term efficacy and safety are lacking. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the long-term effectiveness of the modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) in episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine patients. 52 patients diagnosed with episodic or chronic drug-resistant migraine under modified Atkins ketogenic diet (MAD) were evaluated. In total, 41 patients followed the diet for 6 months and 33 for 12 months. After both 6 and 12 months, frequency, length, and intensity of migraine episodes, as well as the number of medications significantly decreased with respect to the start of the diet. Body mass index, high sensitivity PCR, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma insulin and HOMA index were also significantly reduced both after 6 and 12 months. No major metabolic changes were observed during MAD treatment. In conclusion, KD has been shown to be effective and safe in the long-term treatment of drug-resistant migraine. A high dropout rate still remains an important factor, which often limits its use.