A ketogenic diet reduces metabolic syndrome-induced allodynia and promotes peripheral nerve growth in mice.

Abstract

Current experiments investigated whether a ketogenic diet impacts neuropathy associated with obesity and prediabetes. Mice challenged with a ketogenic diet were compared to mice fed a high-fat diet or a high-fat diet plus exercise. Additionally, an intervention switching to a ketogenic diet following 8 weeks of high-fat diet was performed to compare how a control diet, exercise, or a ketogenic diet affects metabolic syndrome-induced neural complications. When challenged with a ketogenic diet, mice had reduced bodyweight and fat mass compared to high-fat-fed mice, and were similar to exercised, high-fat-fed mice. High-fat-fed, exercised and ketogenic-fed mice had mildly elevated blood glucose; conversely, ketogenic diet-fed mice were unique in having reduced serum insulin levels. Ketogenic diet-fed mice never developed mechanical allodynia contrary to mice fed a high-fat diet. Ketogenic diet fed mice also had increased epidermal axon density compared all other groups. When a ketogenic diet was used as an intervention, a ketogenic diet was unable to reverse high-fat fed-induced metabolic changes but was able to significantly reverse a high-fat diet-induced mechanical allodynia. As an intervention, a ketogenic diet also increased epidermal axon density. In vitro studies revealed increased neurite outgrowth in sensory neurons from mice fed a ketogenic diet and in neurons from normal diet-fed mice given ketone bodies in the culture medium. These results suggest a ketogenic diet can prevent certain complications of prediabetes and provides significant benefits to peripheral axons and sensory dysfunction.

• Authors: Michael A Cooper, Blaise W Menta, Consuelo Perez-Sanchez, Megan M Jack, Zair W Khan, Janelle M Ryals, Michelle Winter, Douglas E Wright
• Journal: Experimental neurology (Exp Neurol) Vol. 306 Pg. 149-157 (08 2018) ISSN: 1090-2430 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 29763602 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chemical References

• Blood Glucose
• Insulin

Topics

• Adiposity
• Animals
• Axons (pathology)
• Blood Glucose (metabolism)
• Diet, High-Fat
• Diet, Ketogenic
• Hyperalgesia (diet therapy, etiology)
• Insulin (blood)
• Male
• Metabolic Syndrome (complications, diet therapy, pathology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Neurites
• Peripheral Nerves (growth & development, pathology)
• Physical Conditioning, Animal
• Weight Loss