Ketogenic Diet in Infancy (KIWE)

The Ketogenic Diet in Infancy (KIWE) trial

KIWE is a multicentre randomised trial to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the ketogenic diet in children with epilepsy under the age of 2 years, who have failed to respond to two or more anti-epileptic drugs.

We are interested in determining the effectiveness on seizure control of the ketogenic diet (KD) compared to further anti-epileptic drug (AED) treatment in children with epilepsy aged 1 month to 2 years who have failed to respond to two or more pharmacological treatments.

Why do we need to study children presenting with epilepsy?

Epilepsy, a condition where individuals are prone to recurrent epileptic seizures, is the most common chronic neurological disorder in children. Currently, the first line management for children presenting with epilepsy is antiepileptic medication. There are currently guidelines which exist on which drugs to use, however, management is still based on a somewhat 'trial and error approach'.

Why do we need to study this age range?

Epilepsy onset is most common in the first 2 years of life and at this age is particularly associated with poor prognosis for seizure control and neurodevelopmental outcome.

What is the ketogenic diet?

The ketogenic diet (KD) is a medically supervised dietary intervention that is high in fat and restricted in carbohydrate and protein, designed to mimic the effects of starvation on the body. KD therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for seizure control in children with epilepsy older than 2 years of age.

KIWE is, therefore, an important trial to optimise choices in epilepsy treatment, aiming to improve outcomes and thus determine whether and when the KD should be considered in this young age group. We are in an excellent position to lead this trial having successfully conducted the first randomised trial investigating KD in older children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The trial is supported by Priment CTU

We are pleased to welcome 4 new recruiting centres to the KIWE trial

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Dr Archana Desurkar)

Royal Preston Hospital (Dr Helen Basu)

The Great North Children's Hospital (Dr Anita Devlin)

Leicester Royal Infirmary (Dr Rajib Samanta)

If you would like to find out more about the study, please contact Laura Lyons (KIWE trial manager) or Maryam Balogun (KIWE trial assistant) on 020 7905 2968 or by email at laura.lyons@ucl.ac.uk / maryam.balogun.17@ucl.ac.uk

Postal address:

Developmental Neurosciences

UCL GOS Institute of Child Health

30 Guilford Street

London WC1N 1EH