A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet remains one of the most effective (but mysterious) treatments for severe pharmacoresistant epilepsy. We have tested for an acute effect of physiological ketone bodies on neuronal firing rates and excitability, to discover possible therapeutic mechanisms of the ketogenic diet. Physiological concentrations of ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate or acetoacetate) r...

Ketone bodies are the most energy-efficient fuel and yield more ATP per mole of substrate than pyruvate and increase the free energy released from ATP hydrolysis. Elevation of circulating ketones via high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets has been used for the treatment of drug-refractory epilepsy and for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. Ketones may also be beneficial for musc...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of overnight insulin pump suspension in an automated predictive low glucose suspend system on morning blood glucose and ketone levels in an attempt to determine whether routine measurement of ketone levels is useful when a closed-loop system that suspends insulin delivery overnight is being used. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data from an in-home randomized trial ...

A rapid and reproducible method for the assay of 14C radioactivity in ketone bodies is described, based on the heat lability of acetoacetate and the ability of beta-hydroxybutyrate to quantitatively bind to and elute from an ion exchange resin. Potential interference from 14C activity in the ketone body metabolites (CO2, bicarbonate and acetone) during infusion of 14C-labeled ketone bodies is e...

Traditionally, the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (βOHB) has been looked upon as a carrier of energy from liver to peripheral tissues during fasting or exercise. However, βOHB also signals via extracellular receptors and acts as an endogenous inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs). These recent findings support a model in which βOHB functions to link the environment, in this case the diet, an...

PURPOSE Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine that has various roles in tumor development and progression. We previously reported that expression of MCP-1 is associated with macrophage infiltration and tumor vessel density in human gastric carcinomas. The present study was undertaken to obtain direct evidence that MCP-1 participates in recruitment of macrophages and inductio...

The rapid solidification microstructure of gas-atomized Al-Si powders of 15, 18, 25, and 50 wt pct Si were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In order of increasing particle size, the powders exhibited microcellular Al, cellular/dendritic Al, eutectic Al, and primary Si growth morphologies. Interface velocity and undercooling were estim...

The metabolism of FFA and ketone bodies was studied in fasted rats by infusing at a constant rate tracer amounts of FFA-(3)H, beta-hydroxybutyrate-(14)C or acetoacetate-(14)C for periods up to 2 hr. Blood that was removed for analyses was replaced by continuous transfusion. The rates of turnover of FFA, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and acetoacetate in rats fasted for 2 days were, respectively, 3.2, 5....