HYPOGLYCEMIA AND ACIDOSIS IN FASTING CHILDREN WITH IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY

Abstract

Fasting of late has been frequently employed in the therapeutics of epilepsy, and numerous reports of fasts for this purpose are found in the literature. In the majority of cases, improvement of at least a transient nature follows fasting but permanent cure has not been demonstrated. Thus far, no consistent explanation has been advanced for the improvement which occurs. During the last two years, nineteen fasts have been carried out on epileptic children in this clinic. During the fast these cases have been studied, in order to determine the effect of fasting on the metabolism, with the hope that some constant change might serve to explain the improvement of the epileptic symptoms during the fast and perhaps form a rational basis for further treatment. Studies carried out in some of these cases have formed the basis of a previous report,¹and it is the purpose of this paper to