Cholesterol guidelines: physicians must determine risks more precisely.

A survey of the present state of developments concerning prevention and therapy of hereditary retinal diseases is given. In recent years the techniques of molecular genetics have led to a rapid identification of a great number of cloned or mapped genes responsible for such diseases. Moreover, further progress has been made in the understanding of disease mechanisms by describing the defective proteins and their altered metabolism. The most recent preventive and therapeutic strategies including gene therapy, dietary regimens, anti-apoptotic agents, transplantation and retinal prosthesis are discussed.

Diet Therapy↗

PubMed2003

Assessing the efficacy of antiepileptic treatments: the ketogenic diet.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the evidence for determining if the ketogenic diet is an effective treatment for epilepsy. METHODS: A literature review of published data over the past 80 years concerning the ketogenic diet was performed, focusing on efficacy, tolerability, age of patient population, as well as study design. RESULTS: There have been several studies involving prospective and retrospective studies showing the ketogenic diet to be a very efficacious treatment in epilepsy, particularly epilepsy in childhood. However, no Class 1 studies have been published concerning the efficacy of the ketogenic diet. CONCLUSIONS: The ketogenic diet appears to be a very effective treatment for epilepsy, particularly in childhood. It would be beneficial to have Class 1 studies available to help better define the role of the diet both in children and adults.

Diet Therapy↗