Association between seizure reduction during ketogenic diet treatment of epilepsy and changes in circulatory metabolites and gut microbiota composition.

Background: The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, sufficient protein, and low carbohydrate dietary therapy for drug-resistant epilepsy. The underlying mechanisms of action of the KD remain unclear. In mice, the microbiota is necessary for the anti-seizure effect and specific microbes influence circulatory levels of metabolites that are linked to seizure reduction.

Investigations of microbiota composition and neuroactive pathways in association with symptoms of stress and depression in a cohort of healthy women.

Background: Despite mounting evidence of gut-brain involvement in psychiatric conditions, functional data remain limited, and analyses of other microbial niches, such as the vaginal microbiota, are lacking in relation to mental health. This aim of this study was to investigate if the connections between the gut microbiome and mental health observed in populations with a clinical diagnosis of mental illness extend to healthy women experiencing stress and depressive symptoms. Additionally, this study examined the functional pathways of the gut microbiota according to the levels of psychological symptoms.

Plasma bile acids in association with Crohn's disease.

Background: In addition to facilitating lipid digestions, bile acids (BA) are signalling molecules acting on receptors on immune cells and along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The aim of this study was to assess if altered bile acid profiles in plasma are associated with Crohn's disease (CD).

Method: This cross-sectional study included individuals (aged ≥18 years) referred for colonoscopy at a tertiary centre in Stockholm between 2016 and 2019.

Fecal transfers from children on the ketogenic diet mimic the anti-seizure effect in mice.

The ketogenic diet (KD) mediates its anti-seizure effect through the gut microbiota in epilepsy mouse models. Lum et al. demonstrated that fecal microbiota from children with epilepsy treated with the KD decreases seizure susceptibility in mice after transfer.